College Years: Freshmen Frenzy
by OTOWNPrince
Summary: A new evil threatens to erase the Digital World. It is up to the DigiDestined to stop it! But, they won't fight this new enemy alone. Especially when they meet an array of new allies at Odaiba University! FIRST FIVE SEASONS COMBINED!
1. Moving

_A/N: This story is a remake of the Create Card's story - Digimon: The College Years. I do not own half of this story, seeing as I am using it without the author's permission. I don't own the characters that appear in it either. If you do not want to read because I am not the original author, than you don't have to. Just don't leave me bullshit comments cause it's not going to make me any happier. I'm doing this out of pure fun and practice, seeing as how I want to make movies one day. ON WITH THE STORY!_

**College Years**: **FRESHMAN FRENZY**

**EPISODE ONE**: **Moving Day**

"Wow... I still can't believe it."

Davis Motomiya, at eighteen-years-old, still couldn't believe the day had come. He was actually going to college at the enormous Odaiba University. And he still couldn't believe how big it was. It was much larger than Odaiba High School and it almost looked like a whole new world. And after seeing the Digital World, that was definitely saying something.

"Hey, Davis! Are you just gonna stand there or are you gonna help us?"

Davis turned around to see his two friends unloading the car. First, there was TK Takaishi, the good-natured young man. Sporting blond hair and his trademark white hat, TK unloaded some of the suitcases to bring into the apartment building. Then there was Ken Ichijouji, the boy genius and one of Davis' best-friends. Though he wasn't as smart as he used to be, Ken was still the most intelligent out of the whole bunch. Ken not only wore his ever-present gray ensemble, but he also sported something else on his shoulder as he unloaded more suitcases. He had his dear friend and Digimon companion, Wormmon.

"It's so big over here, Ken," Wormmon said. "It's not like any other place I've ever seen."

Davis knew Wormmon would get along just fine while they were living in their apartment. The small bug-type Digimon could hide rather easily. That was another thing that was going to make college the best time of Davis's life. He would be living in the apartment complex Retrostare Lofts in a four bedroom/bathroom apartment. And his roommates... would be Ken and TK. That got Davis very excited... and almost looking forward to school. ALMOST.

Davis walked over to the backseat to unload some of the other luggage. He took some of the luggage and walked alongside TK. There was never a time when Davis got along more with TK than now. There used to be a lot of tension between the two boys in the past. And it all had to do with their mutual affection for the beautiful Kari Kamiya.

Davis and TK used to compete for Kari a lot, especially after their adventures in the Digital World ended. But Kari wasn't in a hurry to get into a relationship at the time. In fact, a LOT of time passed before Kari eventually ended up choosing TK when they were all twelve-years-old. But after a few years... an irreconcilable fight happened and TK and Kari broke up. Neither Davis nor any of their friends ever found out WHY they broke up, since they all thought it was just a horrible misunderstanding. They knew what happened was because of a charade by the evil Etemon, but for some reason... they broke up anyway. And it never helped that TK always refused to talk about the circumstances that led to their breakup.

Kari had remained single for a long time after that and Davis had enough sensitivity to know she wouldn't be in any hurry to get in a new relationship. But one day, Davis finally got the courage to ask Kari out on a date. Unfortunately, it wasn't until AFTER another adventure into the Dark Ocean that Davis got the chance to pop the question to Kari. But with TK's blessing, Davis DID ask Kari out on a date... and Kari said yes.

Yeah, life couldn't be any better for Davis Motomiya. He was standing on top of the world. Not only was he going out with Kari soon, but she would also be living in the same apartment complex as him and his roommates, a mere one floor away. And having his two best-friends as roommates, life didn't get much better. Of course, there was someone being left out for the moment... and he was also helping carry out the luggage.

It was sixteen-year-old Cody Hida, who was just getting started with his junior year of high school. Davis wished he didn't have to be so far behind them, but Cody didn't seem to be taking it hard at all. And he would always be welcome to their place.

Cody looked out at the huge campus. "I can't wait to come here in two years. I can't believe I have another two years of high school left."

"It'll all go by fast," TK smiled.

"It didn't go by fast for me," Davis said. "It couldn't go any slower for me."

"Yeah, but you were always a slacker," TK grinned.

"You can't keep up those habits, Davis," Ken added. "If you do, college will eat you for breakfast."

Davis decided to take that as a challenge. He wasn't going to let college life faze him in the slightest. He would come out of it just fine and maybe better than before. And there was nothing that said Davis wouldn't _LOVE_ the next four years. As he thought about what else could happen, Davis went to the back seat to get another suitcase, but a blue hand handed it to him.

"Here you go, Davish."

Davis sweatdropped and took the suitcase... and saw his Digimon partner, Veemon. "Veemon! I told you! You can't come with me!"

The little blue Digimon pointed behind him. "It was Patamon's idea."

Davis moved another suitcase aside revealing TK's partner Digimon, Patamon, who looked as excited as a dog going for a car ride... at least until he was caught. The two Digimon had stowed away.

"I told you this wasn't gonna work," Patamon pouted. "We really _didn't_ get past the parking lot."

"It sounded like a great idea at the time," Veemon grinned.

"TK!" Davis called out. "We've got a problem!"

TK walked over to Davis. "What is it?" Then he sweatdropped when he saw the 'problem.' "Patamon! I said you couldn't come with me. What if someone sees you?"

Patamon put on a sad puppy-dog look. "I promise I'll be good, TK. I won't let anybody see me. I can live in one of the closets."

"Me too," cheerful Veemon piped up. "Nobody has to even know we're here."

"No," Davis and TK said in unison.

"But Wormmon gets to go," Veemon whined.

"Wormmon can hide a lot easier," Ken responded, having heard Veemon. "Besides, Wormmon and I are best friends. I can't just leave him behind."

Veemon looked up at Davis sadly. "But I thought we were best friends, too, Davish."

Patamon was almost in tears. "TK... I thought I was your best friend, too."

Davis couldn't take this. It hurt him to see Veemon like this. He turned to TK. "TK... can't we give them a chance? Maybe we could try hiding them."

TK tried to act as a voice of reason. "Davis, think about it. There's no telling who our Resident Advisors could be. If they get seen, who knows what'll happen."

Davis frowned. "But look at them."

TK looked over to see Veemon and Patamon with sad, yet hopeful, looks on their faces. And it didn't look like he could resist that.

"Great, Ken. See what you started?" TK retorted in a playful manner as he shot Ken a glance, who just shrugged at the remark his friend gave. "Well... OK... they can stay. But they _have_ to hide whenever someone's about to come in!"

Veemon and Patamon were both ecstatic upon hearing TK agree, but Davis stopped them just as they were about to jump out of the car.

"HOLD IT!" Davis yelled as he stood in front of two rookie level Digimon. "You have to be inconspicuous," he said.

"Inconspicuous? That's a big word for you, Davis," TK teased.

"Hey, I've learned _something_ in high school," Davis frowned. "I even know what inconspicuous MEANS!"

With 'inconspicuous' being the key word, Veemon and Patamon decided to stay behind in the car for the time being. And they cleared the way for Davis, TK, Ken, and Cody to finish unloading everything. Now that it crossed his mind, Davis realized that maybe it was better that the Digimon did come along for the college experience. Maybe they could make life ever MORE interesting than it was set to be.

The stage was now set... for the best years of Davis Motomiya's life.

* * *

"Um... is this everything?"

The back of the van was completely stuffed full of suitcases, but eighteen-year-old Takato Matsuki still had a feeling that he was forgetting something. And he didn't want to forget anything before going off to a new life at Odaiba University.

"Are you kidding me?" Terriermon scoffed. "You can't even fit a toothpick through all that. That _has_ to be everything."

"Looks like everything to me," eighteen-year-old Henry Wong added. "There's no way we forgot anything. We're all set! Kenta and Kazu said they'd catch up, right?"

"They said they'd meet us there," Takato answered. "And they said they'd bring the cards."

"What about Guardromon?" Henry asked curiously.

"Uh... I don't know about that one," Takato admitted. "They said they wouldn't bring Guardromon yet. They just said they'd have the cards."

"I hope they don't forget them," Henry said. "You think anybody else in the building will know about the card game?"

"If they don't, then that's what we'll be there for," Takato replied. "It'll up to us to educate them."

"Of course. And when it comes to the card game, you guys are the _best_ teachers," a female voice said from behind the two friends. Takato and Henry turned around to come face-to-face with fifteen-year-old Suzie Wong, Henry's cheerful younger sister, and her Digimon partner, Lopmon. Suzie hasn't changed much over the course of five years, save for the fact that she stopped dressing Terriermon up as the infamous 'Pwincess Pwetty Pants.'

Suzie was just getting started with her sophomore year of high school, so she was stuck in West Shinjuku for another three years. But, she wasn't worried. When they were younger, Suzie was always being left behind by the older kids because of her young age. And besides, she always had Lopmon for company. The young Tamer gave a laugh before continuing, "You've already taught everyone at the high school... how to beat you."

"They just got lucky," Takato muttered.

Takato and Henry had been best-friends for many years and they were both very excited about this new stage in their lives. They were about to go off to college together. Not only that, but they'd also be roommates. Things didn't get any sweeter than that.

Of course, it wasn't like they'd both be alone just themselves. Kenta and Kazu would both be there, too. In fact, they would be living next door to Takato and Henry. And there would always be Terriermon, Henry's partner Digimon, who could often be seen hanging on Henry's shoulder. But Terriermon could find just about any hiding place and even if he couldn't find one, he could hide himself very easily. Terriermon had spent his first years often masquerading himself as a stuffed animal.

Takato had a Digimon partner of his own... someone he wished he could bring along. But size would definitely be an issue and Takato finally decided it was best if he left him behind.

"Takato!"

It hurt Takato tremendously to hear that voice. He turned around and saw his Digimon partner, Guilmon, running up to him. And he looked very excited... which obviously meant that the news hadn't sunk into him yet. Guilmon looked passed Takato and towards the van.

"There's a lot of stuff in there, Takato. Where will I sit?"

Takato put a hand on his partner's shoulder. "Guilmon... boy... I can't take you with me."

"But why not?" Guilmon asked sadly in his child-like voice.

Takato tried to put it delicately. "Well... how do I say this? Well... the rooms aren't really as big as we'd hoped. And... we DO have a lot of stuff. It could get really packed in there..."

"What he's _trying_ to say is," Terriermon chimed in, "you're JUST TOO BIG! There's no way you could keep yourself hidden; you're a huge red lizard! I don't even think you'd be able to fit in the closet. I don't even think you could fit under the bed."

"Terriermon, you really need to learn the meaning of the word _tact_," Lopmon said to her counterpart, who just smiled huffily at the former Deva Digimon. "Um... thanks, Terriermon," Takato said dryly. He turned to Guilmon. "I'm really sorry, boy."

Guilmon hung his head down. "But I'm gonna miss you, Takato."

Takato tried to crack a smile. "Come on, buddy. I'll come and visit. It's not like I'm going away forever. I'm just... leaving for a while. I promise I'll come visit you. Besides, you'll have Suzie and Lopmon to keep you company," Takato said as he pointed towards Suzie and her partner, who smiled at the large, red Digimon.

"Yeah, Guilmon, I'll come over every day after school and we can make Guilmon bread together!" Suzie said in a sad attempt to comfort Guilmon, who just sadly hung his head low. Guilmon gave Takato a big hug. "Remember, you promised!"

Takato returned the hug and walked over to the driver's seat. With Henry and Terriermon in the passenger's seat, it was finally time to go. It was time to go off and start a new life. Takato started the van, but before he drove off, he looked out the window.

"Goodbye, Guilmon! Don't give my parents any trouble!"

Takato looked out of the corner of his eye and saw Henry and Terriermon waving to Suzie and Lopmon, who were standing next to a morose Guilmon. He started up the van and began to pull out of the driveway. Takato looked out his rear-view mirror to see Guilmon waving sadly. It broke his heart to see that.

"Are you sure you're doing the right thing?" Henry asked.

Takato hesitated. "I... guess so. I wish I _could_ bring him with me, though."

It was almost too much for Takato. So to avoid getting the urge to turn back, he didn't look back... at the friend he was leaving behind.

* * *

It was just another day in the good old sewer pipe for Impmon. He passed the day as he usually did lately. He bounced a baseball off the wall and caught it with his hand. It was kinda fun, but no one would ever get him to admit it. He knew he'd have to thank Calumon someday, but no one would ever get him to say it. It wasn't his style.

Impmon was rude and crude. He was a bad little Digimon with attitude. But of course, he wasn't all bad. He did have a heart; he just didn't want to show it. And he did have his share of friends, one of whom was on her way.

Impmon kept waiting for Renamon to arrive. She said she had something to tell him. Now that he thought of it, she had been acting pretty weird. It was like she didn't want to tell him something. But Impmon dealt with the worst life had to offer so many times. What could she possibly tell him that could be so potentially damaging?

He didn't know what to make of it and, in fact, it hardly bothered him. He just kept casually tossing the baseball around and catching it. Suddenly, he tossed the baseball in another direction, knowing someone was arriving. Sure enough, someone skillfully caught the ball in the palm of her hand. It was Renamon.

"Nice catch, toots," Impmon grinned. "So what kept ya?"

Renamon tossed the ball back to Impmon. "I had to give Rika a hand. She... has her hands full right now."

"What's got _her_ so busy?" Impmon scoffed. "She going back to school or something? Is it that time of year already?"

"I'm... afraid so."

"Hey Renamon, I don't know much about humans or how they're educated, so I don't know too much about this whole idea of school. But didn't Rika graduate a few months ago? Doesn't that mean she don't need to go to school no more?"

Renamon stayed silent. Impmon calmly bounced the ball, but couldn't help but wonder what was keeping her quiet. It was an awfully simple question.

"Impmon... humans have another stage of education to complete after high school. They move on to a stage of higher learning known as college."

Impmon bounced the ball again. "Uh huh. So that means she's going to another new school?"

"Yes, she is. But... there's more to it than that. Impmon, there's something I have to tell you."

"Yeah, well hurry up and spit it out," the nonchalant Impmon said.

Renamon finally came out and said it. "Rika is going to college in a city called Odaiba... which is located far away from West Shinjuku."

Impmon finally saw where this was going. "Hmm... does that mean what I think it does?"

"I'm afraid it does. I am going to accompany Rika to Odaiba. And that means I'm going to have to leave."

Impmon didn't like hearing that. "Oh, I see what it is. You don't like being around me, so the answer's to leave, is that it?"

"Impmon, it isn't that at all. But I can't allow Rika to leave without me. We're partners."

"So just when were planning to tell me this?" Impmon demanded.

"I'm telling you now," Renamon pointed out.

Impmon sweatdropped. "Oh yeah. Well... why didn't you tell me sooner? It doesn't help me to find out right when you're about to leave. Uh... when ARE you leaving, anyway?"

"In five minutes."

"FIVE MINUTES?! And you're telling me now?! What were you waiting for?! You might as well have sent me a postcard!"

"It wasn't easy for me to tell you this. I consider you a good friend, Impmon. And it isn't easy saying goodbye to a friend. But I'm afraid there are just some things that are unavoidable. This is one of them. I must go."

Impmon scowled. "Yeah, well... I guess if you have to. At least I'll have the others... I guess."

"I'm...afraid it's not that simple. The others are also going to Odaiba."

Now Impmon was angry. "**WHAT**?! They're all leaving, too?! And I'm just learning about this NOW?! So what's this mean, Renamon?! I'm just gonna stay here all by myself?! Now I ain't gonna have nobody?!"

"I'm sorry, Impmon," Renamon said solemnly.

Impmon formed a fireball at his fingertip and tossed it behind him. "Then go! I don't need any of ya! Get outta here!"

"Impmon, please don't be angry. It's not like we'll never see you again. We'll try to come and visit. Please don't let our last meeting be an unpleasant one."

"I don't need any of ya! I've been a loner my whole life. I guess I just took a break for a while. Just... just get outta here. Go away."

Renamon sighed deeply and turned to leave. "Very well. Goodbye, Impmon. I came to say goodbye because whether you believe me or not, I will miss you."

Impmon turned around to watch Renamon slowly walk away. He knew he'd miss her too. He'd miss all of them. Even if they were just a bunch of lousy humans, they were still his friends. And so were their Digimon. They had been Impmon's _only_ friends. And now they were leaving him. He wanted to say goodbye. He wanted to say he'd miss them too.

But he didn't like to be emotional. That wasn't his style.

* * *

Guilmon couldn't believe this was happening. His lifelong friend was leaving him. When he was first created, the first person Guilmon saw was Takato. Takato had always been there for him and now he was gone. Guilmon didn't want to go on without him.

All Guilmon could do now was stay in Takato's room and think about the past. Everything felt like it had gone by so fast. Guilmon wished he could still be around Takato... and have fun with him, just like it used to be. Five years had gone by too fast.

"Hi, Mrs. Matsuki!" a voice called down in the floor below. "Is Takato still here?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Jeri. You just missed him. I think he already left to go to the university. Shouldn't you be getting ready to go, too?"

"Yeah... but I was hoping to see Takato one more time before I left."

Guilmon got up and walked downstairs and looked out into the bread store, owned by Takato's parents. And that's where he saw eighteen-year-old Jeri Katou, Takato's longtime friend... and crush. She had lived quite a past, even having left West Shinjuku for a few years to go see a psychiatrist. And after a year of being in West Shinjuku, she was getting ready to go off to Odaiba. Jeri was about to turn to leave, but looked out at the stairs and saw Guilmon.

"Mrs. Matsuki? Is it ok if I have a word with Guilmon?"

"Oh sure, Jeri. He's right in there."

Jeri walked passed Takato's mom and walked towards the stairs where Guilmon was sitting. Jeri sat right beside him.

"You didn't go, Guilmon?" Jeri asked.

Guilmon shook his head. "Takato said I couldn't go. He said I wouldn't fit in the dorm and it would be too hard to hide me because I'm too big."

Jeri frowned. "Takato gives up too easily. Come on, Guilmon. It can't be **that** hard to hide you. You can always pretend to be a stuffed animal. You've seen Terriermon do it for years. Show me you can do it, too."

Guilmon thought about that. And then he decided to try it. He froze in place and didn't move a muscle. That didn't mean Jeri wouldn't test him. She waved her hand in front of his face. She tried making faces in an attempt to get Guilmon to flinch. But none of it worked. Finally, Jeri tried tickling Guilmon under his chin.

Guilmon started giggling. "Stop it, Jeri. That tickles."

Jeri sweatdropped. "We'll keep working on it. But I think you're good to go. You should be over there with Takato right now, Guilmon."

"But Takato already left without me," Guilmon moped.

Jeri kept on smiling. "So? That doesn't mean a thing. I'll tell you what. Why don't you ride with me? You can practice being a stuffed animal on the way there."

"You really mean it, Jeri?" Guilmon asked excitedly.

"Of course!" Jeri nodded. "And if Takato says anything, you just tell him to talk to me. Now come on, let's get going."

Guilmon felt so excited. "Oh boy! College!"

Jeri took Guilmon by the hand and started carrying him out. But Guilmon was much heavier than he looked. So Jeri decided to use the shopping cart Takato always used. It was lying in Takato's closet. Guilmon jumped on and made himself comfortable.

"Now try and practice being a stuffed animal. Ok, Guilmon?"

Guilmon nodded and stayed perfectly still while Jeri carefully wheeled the cart down the stairs. Mrs. Matsuki, who was working the bread store, looked at Jeri curiously.

"Jeri... where are you taking Guilmon?"

"Oh... he wanted to say goodbye," Jeri grinned. "He'll be back later. Bye, Mrs. Matsuki!"

"Um... bye, Jeri."

Jeri wheeled the cart out to her car, which was parked by the sidewalk. When no one was looking, Jeri opened the passenger-side door and let Guilmon jump in. Jeri left the shopping cart back in the bread store and got in her car.

"I guess it's better this way," Jeri smiled. "I didn't want to go off to Odaiba by myself, anyway."

"What about Rika?" Guilmon asked, remembering that Rika was going to be Jeri's roommate.

"You know Rika," Jeri sighed. "She said she'd catch up. I wonder what it'll be like living with HER for the entire year... You know how she can get."

"You don't have to spend ALL your time with her," Guilmon reminded her. "Takato's gonna be downstairs on the first floor, you know."

Jeri blushed. "Well... that _is_ true. I have a feeling I'll be down there a lot."

Taking a deep breath, Jeri started the car. And then they were off. Guilmon stuck his head out the passenger window and looked back at the bread store one last time. Now HE was off to a new life and a new experience. But there was one thing that lingered in the back of Guilmon's mind.

"Um... Jeri?"

"Yes, Guilmon?"

"I never asked Takato this question so can ask _you_, instead?"

"Sure! Go ahead."

"Uh... what IS college?"

Jeri immediately sweatdropped and Guilmon could sense he'd be in for a long explanation.

* * *

Eighteen-year-old Koji Minamoto drummed his fingers on the side of his car for the umpteenth time. He was pass the point of aggravation and was starting get exceptionally angry. "_Where are they_?!" he asked outloud to no one in particular, even though his brother, Koichi Kimura, was sitting right next to him on the passenger side of the large van. "Calm down, I'm sure they're on their way," Koichi said in a calm-like voice, attempting to reduce Koji's ever-growing anger, but to no avail. Koji sighed huffily, an angry scowl now forming on his face.

The two twin brothers were sitting in the large U-Haul van waiting on none other than Takuya Kanbara, who was supposed to have been at the meet spot (which was in right in front of Shibuya Park) at least thirty minutes ago. But, as usual, Takuya was late to being where he needed to be.

When one thinks about it, no one out of the six Legendary Warriors had changed THAT much over the past six years. Takuya was still the most impulsive out of the group, always jumping right into an action before thinking anything through. And Koji was always there to reprimand his childish actions, being the more serious out of the bunch. Unfortunately Koichi, Koji's twin brother, always found himself caught in the middle between one of the Takuya and Koji's little spats that happened every-so-often. Now the three of them were heading off to a new life at Odaiba University. This would prove to be a challenge for each of them, seeing as how they all would be living together in an apartment for the entire year.

That is, if Takuya ever got to the meeting place.

"Maybe they got hung up somewhere? You know that traffic can be pretty hectic this time of day," Koichi said to his brother, who was still looking out the window with a look that can melt ice. "Koichi, don't try and make excuses for him. You know as well as I do that Takuya has no sense of urgency. He doesn't take anything seriously!" Koji started this anytime Takuya had aggravated him. He began to rant on about the goggle-boy's flaws, even if Takuya had proven himself time and time again that he was in fact dependable. Their adventures in the Digital World had seen to that.

Koichi just sighed at his brother as a white Ford Taurus came zooming next to them. It was sixteen-year-old Tommy Himi and Takuya in the passenger seat. About five months ago, Takuya had gotten his license suspended for excessive speeding. Ever since then he either walked to where he needed to go or gotten a ride from someone. Next month he would be able to take the driver's test and try and get his license again. But, that wouldn't be until later in life. Now, he would have to deal with the wrath of an angry and aggravated Koji.

"Sorry we're late! Mom and Dad didn't want to let me go," Takuya said as he got out of Tommy's car with a duffle bag across his shoulder. Takuya was wearing his regular ensemble of clothes, which consisted of a hat with goggles on top, a red jacket with a shirt that had the symbol of the Spirit of Fire on it. The driver, Tommy Himi, was the youngest out of the bunch. He was just starting his junior year of high school and was taking it kind of hard. But, he had agreed to drive Takuya to meet Koji and Koichi at the park. He was also planning on visiting his older friends the first weekend that they were all off from school.

"What took you so long?!" Koji screamed at Takuya, who began putting his suitcases and boxes in the van immediately.

"Didn't you hear me? I was saying goodbye to my parents," Takuya said calmly, never looking Koji directly in the face.

"So why didn't you call one of us? Do have any idea how long we've been waiting for you?"

"Koji give it a rest. It wasn't his fault," Tommy stepped in to avert what looked like the beginnings of an argument. Tommy had always looked up to Takuya as a second older brother, so he often was protecting Takuya from Koji's constant nagging. "You should of called to let us know, at least. That would've been the responsible thing to do," Koji continued, ignoring Tommy.

"Well, sorry. Next time I'll know to check with you," Takuya said to no one in particular, but he made it a point to make sure that everyone had heard him.

Koichi and Tommy exchanged glances before looking over at Koji, who's eyes were now closed in frustration. The warrior of Light sighed loudly, preparing his attack.

"Okay... uh... Takuya you need any help with that?" Koichi asked as he began to help Takuya load his things into the van. Silent befell the four men as Takuya, Koichi, and Tommy put the last of Takuya's things in the U-Haul van. Koji sat the entire time in the driver's seat, his eyes closed and a frown forming on his face.

Than, his eyes suddenly flashed open, a small smirk forming where the frown was mere seconds ago. Takuya was also wore an unpleasant expression on his face, but he was carrying a friendly conversation with Tommy all the same. "Your parents held you up, yeah right," Koji said to himself, but like Takuya, he made sure that everyone heard him.

"AAGH! KOJI WILL YOU JUST DROP IT? GEEZ!" Takuya yelled to his friend/rival, making Tommy nearly jump out of his pants, dropping a box in the process.

"Great, now look what you've gone and done?" Takuya replied, immediately beginning to pick up the contents that fell out of the box. One of those just happened to a framed picture of him and their mutual friend, Zoë Orimoto.

Takuya and Zoë began dating when they had just started to attend Shibuya High School, but unfortunately after eight months of dating, they broke up due to... personality clashes. That wasn't the end of it, though. The summer before their sophomore year of high school, Takuya and Zoë had gotten back together, to everyone's surprise. This one only lasted for a mere four months, before the two broke it off, yet again. This went on for the group's entire high school career; the last time the couple broke up was at their high school graduation, a scene that no one would forget. Takuya and Zoë have had the most volatile on-and-off relationship that Koji's has ever seen. And he was often right where he didn't want to be, smack-dab in the middle of one of their arguments, which often became violently physical.

Takuya picked up the picture as if it could break any second. "You probably had Tommy drive around town so you can spot Zoë somewhere," Koji said, not being able to help himself to Takuya's defenseless composure.

Everyone in the vicinity reacted in a different way, none of them being positive. Tommy gasped and shot Koji a death glare. "KOJI!" Koichi yelled and pulled his brother to the side, temporarily leaving Takuya and Tommy alone on the other side of the van.

"Koji, what's your deal? That was real low what you just said," he reprimanded his brother, who merely shrugged it off.

"Come on, you know that's what he did! I don't buy his parents story for one second," Koji said nastily, still not letting up his attitude. Koichi sighed and looked his brother straight in the eye. "I don't doubt for a second that Takuya probably had Tommy drive all over the city looking for Zoë. But... some things just shouldn't be said," Koichi replied as he put his hand on Koji's shoulder. "Look, can you please cool it until we get to Odaiba? We haven't even moved in yet and you two are already at each other's throats."

Koji looked down at the ground bitterly before nodding. "Alright, already, sheesh."

The two went back to the other side of the van, where Takuya and Tommy had continued packing. Takuya had a large, seemingly forced smile on his face when the twins had reunited with them. Koji walked up to Takuya, his head hung to the ground.

"Look Takuya, about what I said..."

Takuya laughed at Koji in a friendly manner. "Don't worry about it! I've known you for six years now. I knew that would find out eventually," Takuya said with a smile. Koji and Koichi looked up at their friend in surprise, but then after a millisecond they, too, began smiling.

"Well, now that that's settled, can we please get going? I'd like to make it to Odaiba before dark," Koichi said as he hopped back in the passenger seat of the van. He rolled down the window and waved at Tommy. "Catch you on the flipside Tommy!"

Tommy laughed, but it was apparent that he was about to break out in tears. "Hey, don't start the waterworks on us just yet!" Takuya said as he put Tommy in a headlock and began ruffling his hair. "Alright Takuya, quit it!" the young boy yelled as he struggled to get out of Takuya's grip.

Koji got in the U-Haul and started it up. "Hold down the fort while we're gone. OK, Tommy?"

Tommy gave the three Legendary Warriors a thumbs up as Koji began to pull off.

"See you in about two weeks, Tommy buddy!" Takuya yelled from the backseat with half of his body hanging out the window.

Tommy waved as he watched his friends drive off into the horizon. To their new lives that they would soon begin...

* * *

It was another day of what seemed to be the longest vacation Riley Ootori had ever had. After going through her rigorous schedule, she needed a break and now she finally has one. Serving as a government agent was very stressful, especially considering some of the strange things that Riley and her colleagues from Hypnos had witnessed. This was her chance to relax.

Unfortunately, this was a pretty boring day that Riley was spending in the Tokyo apartment she had been living in for the past two years. She still wasn't awake yet and she couldn't bring herself to shake off the cobwebs.

"Riley, are you just going to lie there all day?"

That was Riley's roommate, coworker, and longtime friend Tally Onodera. Tally, with straight brown hair that came down to her neck, hadn't changed much in the past five years. She was still one of the most curious people Riley had ever known, always looking into strange phenomena. She's still a big thinker, one of the qualities that made her such a valuable agent for the government. And she was always loyal, much like Riley herself was.

Tally had spent the whole day cleaning the apartment, which was far from clean. And after a few wild nights, Tally probably wanted her room looking a _little_ presentable. And she apparently didn't appreciate being alone in the cleaning effort.

Riley rolled over... and fell off her bed. "AAH!" She moaned and moved some of her own red hair that fell over her face. "What day is it?"

Tally shook her head. "It's Tuesday and it's 2:00 in the afternoon. How many drinks did you have last night?"

Riley rubbed her eyes and then her head. "I don't know. I think I lost count after the third one."

"That's not becoming of a government agent. What if we get called back to work and have to take a blood test or something?"

"Tally, we've been on vacation for over a month and there's no end in sight. I don't think we're getting called back to work anytime soon. And to think they'd dare give us a blood test _now_ would be nothing short of paranoia."

"I'm just being cautious," the short-haired Tally shot back. "It would help you to be prepared for the unexpected. You never know what might happen."

Before Tally could give Riley any more of a lecture, the phone started ringing. Riley took this opportunity to get out having to hear Tally's speech on the overconsumption of alcohol and answer it, even if the phone's incessant ringing made her headache worse. She finally picked it up.

"Hello?"

_"Riley? It's been a long time."_

Riley recognized the voice on the other end immediately. It was her superior and friend, Mitsuo Yamaki.

"It certainly has. To what do I owe the pleasure, Yamaki?"

_"I know you still have that new model phone, so go ahead and put me on speakerphone. I'd like to speak to you and Tally."_

Riley couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. If Yamaki wanted to speak with both of them, then this was probably serious. This probably meant it would soon be time to go back to work. Maybe Tally was right.

"Talley, come here," Riley called. She pushed the button to turn the speakerphone on. "Ok, we're both here. I take it this isn't a social call?"

_"Unfortunately not. But before anything, how are your vacations going so far?"_

"Um... a lot of fun," Tally grinned. "You simply MUST join us one night, sir. Why, you should have seen Riley last night-"

"**TALLY**!" Riley snapped. "Excuse her, sir. The dust from the vacuum's gone to her brain. Our off-time's been very relaxing."

_"That's good to hear. Unfortunately, I'll have to cut your vacations a little short. Agents... no, friends... I'll need your help. We have a dire situation on our hands."_

"How bad is it?" Riley asked.

_"Let me put it this way... it sounds a lot like what we went through five years ago. And while it isn't nearly as big a threat as the D-Reaper YET... if we don't take immediate action, it very would could reach that stage."_

Riley and Tally exchanged glances. Neither one of them had forgotten how much wanton destruction the D-Reaper left in its path. If something like that ever invaded again, it could very well be the end of civilization. But there couldn't be anything else like the D-Reaper out there, could there?

"We'll do whatever we can," Riley finally said. "What do you want us to do, sir?"

_"Perhaps this isn't the best place to explain it. It's better I give you the briefing in person. How soon can you two get to headquarters?"_

Riley and Tally looked around their apartment. It looked like a tornado had hit. It was either head straight to the old Hypnos building in West Shinjuku... or stay and clean.

"We'll be there right away!" Riley exclaimed.

"Immediately, sir!" Tally added.

_"Glad to hear it. Be here pronto, for we have a long mission ahead of us. And Riley, Tally... it'll be good to be working with you again."_

The phone went dead and Riley and Tally both sighed. Their vacation had come to an abrupt and sudden end. And it looked like they were both in for a long mission. Such a sudden revelation got Riley's head hurting even worse.

Talley smirked. "Better hope we don't get that blood test."

"Please shut up. You're driving, right?"

"No prob, but you're vacuuming when we come back. _If_ we come back."

Riley and Tally walked to the door and looked back one more time. They couldn't for the life of them guess what Yamaki could possibly have to reveal when they got back to West Shinjuku. They just knew that whatever it was...

...it was a major threat.

* * *

"Are you sure you haven't forgotten anything?"

Night was beginning to fall and boxes upon boxes still filled the inside of eighteen-year-old Kari Kamiya's car. And it would take a lot of effort to clear the car and take all the boxes out. Luckily, Kari had a friend there who was more than willing to help her out. It was nineteen-year-old Yolei Inoue, who was going into her sophomore year at Odaiba University.

Yolei was one of Kari's closest friends, but now more than ever, Kari would be relying on her a lot more. Kari would go into her freshman year knowing very little about college life. That's where Yolei would help her out and show her the ropes.

"This looks like everything," Kari answered her friend.

"AAGH! It HAS to be everything!" a muffled voice cried out amidst the mess.

Kari sweatdropped when she heard who it was. Yolei rushed over and took a box out, giving Kari's Digimon companion, Gatomon, some breathing room. Gatomon gasped for air, as if she had been suffocated by all those boxes.

"It's great to have some fresh air again," Gatomon said, taking a deep breath.

"Gatomon, I'm so sorry!" Kari apologized. "I didn't know I was crushing you."

Gatomon jumped out of the car and stretched. "It's ok, Kari. Sure it was uncomfortable, but I won't get catty about it."

Kari looked out towards the apartment complex of Retrostare Lofts, the place where she would be living for the next year. "Yolei... what's it like? Living in your own apartment?"

"Kari, that's the millionth time you've asked me that," Yolei sighed. Then she smiled. "But I'll tell you again! Believe me, you're gonna love it! There's never a dull moment!"

"Really?"

"Well... as soon as you forget all the boring parts... YEAH!"

Kari smiled. "Sounds great! I can't wait!" Then her face fell. "But... there is _one_ thing that bothers me."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"Well... at least Davis, TK, and Ken know who they all are rooming with."

"Well, duh! They're rooming with _each other_," Yolei pointed out.

"I know, but... I wish I knew who I was rooming with," Kari sighed. "I have no idea who my roommate will be."

"I wish I could help you there, Kari," Yolei concurred. "But even I don't know what to tell you on that one. It could be just about anybody. But I know how you feel. I don't know who my roommates are, either. All I know is that one of them a foreign transfer student from France. And the other one just transferred from Tokyo. Other than that, I don't have any clue who they are."

Kari hung her head down. At least Yolei had some vague details about who her roommates are, but Kari knew nothing and she couldn't get that out of her head. She would be living in an apartment with three other people. And it could be just about anybody. It could either be the roommate from heaven... or from...

"I wish you could be my roommate, Yolei," Kari frowned.

Yolei shook her head. "You know that can't happen, Kari. Not until next year, anyway. But you know I'll be in your room so much, it'll be like I PRACTICALLY live there!"

Kari smiled. "Well... I guess that's the best I could hope for."

"Try not to think about it too much until they actually show up," Yolei suggested. "In the meantime, let's worry about getting _you_ all moved in."

"Well... ok. Give me a hand with this. And stay in the car, Gatomon."

Kari and Yolei both grabbed a large box and started slowly lugging it towards one of the doors that led inside lobby area of one of the apartment buildings. The contents had to be HUGE... and that meant it had to be the TV. But a problem had shown itself as they were both approaching the door. It happened to be closed. But luckily, there was one other girl who was just arriving and it looked like she could hold the door open.

"Excuse me!" Kari cried, between grunts and groans. "Could you hold the door open, please?"

The girl turned around and shook her head. Kari tried to get a good look at her. The girl was about Kari's height with red hair arranged in a ponytail that stood up. She also had light purple eyes... that didn't exactly look too spirited. She wore a pair of jeans and a shirt with a heart on it. Kari wondered if this was her roommate.

The girl sighed and held the door open while Kari and Yolei carried the box in and put it down on the ground. Kari turned around and decided to get to know this person a little better.

"Hi there!" Kari said cheerfully. When the girl didn't return the smile, Kari decided to just keep trying to be friendly. "I was just about to move my stuff in. I live in Apartment #1142."

The girl shook her head again. "Great. I live in #1143, so I guess I'll be living across from you."

Kari kept her cheerful demeanor, despite the girl's blasé attitude. "That's great! My name's Kari and this is Yolei. She's going into her sophomore year."

The girl didn't even hint at a smile. "The name's Rika." She looked at Kari and shrugged. "Oh well. I could have worse neighbors."

"So you're living across from me, huh?" Kari asked, not losing her spirit. "Maybe we could hang out sometime, get to know each other!"

Rika just shrugged and started walking away. "Yeah, whatever."

As soon as Rika was away, Kari lost her smile and frowned. That first exchange didn't go quite as pleasantly as she had hoped.

"What's her problem?" Yolei growled, with that usual sincerity of hers.

Kari moaned softly. That would be the girl who would be living across from her. The stage was set for this to be a VERY long year.


	2. Acquaintances

_A/N: Well folks here it is, chapter two of Freshman Frenzy! A little note, I want you guys to discard the entire Frontier storyline, seeing as how I altered it to fit in with the Adventure and Tamers series. Instead of the Celestial Digimon (Ophanimon, Cherubimon, and Seraphimon), I'm using the Digimon Sovereigns as ruler of the Digital World and their rookie forms. I based their rookie forms off of Pokémon: Azulongmon's rookie form is based off of Dratini from the Pokémon series; Ebnowumon's rookie from is based off of Turtwig; Baihumon's rookie level is based off of Shinx and is the one that hatched from Bokomon's egg in the series in THIS version; Zhuqiaomon's rookie level is based off of the Pokémon Torchic. Anyways, hope this AU story doesn't bother any of you and as usual, I don't own these characters and I do not own half of this story. It was created by the Create Card. ENJOY!_

**College Years**: **FRESHMAN FRENZY**

**EPISODE TWO**: **Meeting the Neighbors**

Sora Takenouchi looked around her new room, which looked very clean... for the moment. She knew that things wouldn't stay this clean forever. Probably since there would be plenty of work to do here. It wasn't just schoolwork, but also there would be a lot of work to do if the fashion label would finally go national.

Of course, dorm life wouldn't be all work. For Sora, rooming with her best friend, Mimi Tachikawa, was the best thing she could have asked for. And having jobs as Resident Advisor's was going to be great. For one thing, it gave them free housing for the year. And the other thing was... they'd be right on Kari's floor. And Sora couldn't wait to see Kari's reaction.

Sora left her room and walked towards the small common room in the middle of the apartment, which Mimi was currently decorating. She took out a small dress. "Hmm... you know something, Sora? If we're taking STMT national, then we really should think about making a children's line. What do you think of this dress?"

Sora examined the small red dress. "It could use a little something more. Maybe we can add something to it. So who are our models?"

Mimi scratched the back of her head and giggled sheepishly. "Uh... we... don't _have_ models."

"Mimi! Then how are we supposed to know if the designs look any good? We need a guinea pig."

"But who do we know that's small enough to model these clothes?" Mimi asked curiously.

Sora and Mimi thought about that for a few minutes... and then a light bulb appeared over their heads. They grinned and looked straight at their computers. They knew just who to call.

It was time to make a call to the Digital World.

* * *

Davis looked around his newly decorated living room. There were dozens of unopened boxes lying inside the room, so the conditions didn't look quite livable yet. But Davis did like what he saw so far.

In the front of the room was a big screen TV, compliments of Retrostare Lofts. Then in front of that was a loveseat that could sit at least three people. Next to that was a lounge chair made for only one person to... well, lounge in. Not too far away was the kitchen, where the three boys wouldn't be spending much of their time in because none of them can actually cook. It had a large fridge (which was empty as of right now) and an island where people can sit at and eat.

Thankfully, each boy had their own personal room to themselves, and Ken and TK were fixing theirs up at the moment. Since the apartment was a four bedroom/bathroom, there was one vacant room that no one would be living in. That would be the Digimon's own room for them to have. And if anyone went in the room to be nosey, than the three Digimon could pretend to be stuffed animals. Everyone had agreed to call the room 'The Junk Room' to anyone who wouldn't be living there. But, this did not mean that the Digimon were junk any shape, way, or form.

Davis's room was nearly done, save for putting away all of the empty boxes and suitcases. He had put blinds up by his window so no one unknown passerby would look up and peep a blue creature staring down at them (Veemon). His bed was made with brand new blankets; his closest was filled to the brim with all the clothes and shoes he could've brought along. He had a small TV that was placed on the dresser. The only thing that was missing...

Ken interrupted Davis's daydreaming. "Uh... Davis? Did you remember to bring up the stereo?"

Davis slapped himself on the forehead. "I knew I forgot something. I'll go get it!"

Without waiting, Davis rushed out of the room and headed for the main door that led outside. Unfortunately, Davis wasn't even looking because as soon as he reached the door... he pushed it open and it ended up nailing some guy in the face.

"**Hey**!"

Davis didn't notice the guy drop all his boxes... and just kept running without looking back.

* * *

"Takato! Are you ok?"

Takato tried to shake off the cobwebs. He looked around and saw that all the boxes he was carrying were now down on the ground. He was hit hard in the face by that door and now Takato was trying to gather himself and get to his feet.

"What was THAT?" Takato asked groggily.

"That guy sure came running out in a hurry," Henry answered. "Didn't even stop to apologize, either."

"Man that was so RUDE!" Terriermon added. "You'd think people these days would watch where they're going!"

"I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it, Terriermon," Henry sighed. "It was probably just an accident."

"But he DOES have a point," Takato pointed out. "You'd think he could have at least apologized."

"Let's give him a chance," Henry said. "Maybe we'll run into him again later."

"Let's just hope he doesn't run a door into Takato's face again," Terriermon joked.

"Ha... ha... ha," Takato muttered dryly. "I see you didn't forget your sense of humor back home. Henry, give me a hand with this stuff."

Takato bent down and started to pick everything up while Henry gave him a hand. Terriermon managed to somehow keep his balance on Henry's shoulder as the boy moved around.

Takato thought it would be best if he shrugged off the whole incident. Maybe it WAS just an accident.

* * *

Davis was starting to think it was better if he had Ken help him out, because with this big stereo he was carrying, he could barely see anything in front of his face. The weight of the stereo didn't help matters, either. Davis was very careful not to hit anything, but opening the door would now be a very difficult task.

Sensing the door was near, Davis reached over with his right hand while trying not to drop the stereo at the same time. Finally, he sensed the door's handle and _threw_ it open. What Davis didn't see was that the door collided with someone. He didn't even notice.

"**Hey**!"

Davis was instead 100 focused on not dropping the stereo, so he walked back into the building without looking back.

* * *

Takato groaned. "Not again!"

Henry, who was still trying to pick some of the stuff up, looked over at his fallen friend. "What happened?"

"It's that same idiot!" Terriermon answered. "He just threw the door open without even watching where he was going."

"Are you sure?" Henry asked doubtfully.

"Would I lie about this sort of thing?" Terriermon replied almost angrily. "That had to have been on purpose! No one is that stupid to 'accidentally' knock someone over **_twice_**!"

"I gotta agree with Terriermon on this one," Takato said indignantly. "There can't be anyone that dimwitted!"

"But he doesn't even know you," Henry pointed out. "Why would he knock you down on purpose?"

"Well... I guess you make a good point," Takato conceded. "But he'd better apologize the next time I see him. Help me pick this stuff up, Henry."

Takato and Henry slowly picked up all the spilt boxes. While Henry did manage to calm Takato a little bit, the goggle boy still had some anger brewing inside of him. But what could possibly come of this? Henry knew Takato wasn't the kind of guy to go for revenge. Kazu and Kenta might... but not Takato.

Still... this wasn't a very good way to meet the neighbors.

* * *

Zoë Orimoto got out of the large pickup truck and looked out at her the place she would call home for the next four years, Retrostare Lofts. She marveled at how big the apartment actually was. Yeah, sure, she had known that it would be pretty big, but this was nothing compared to the images she saw over the computer.

"Wow! It's amazing!" She exclaimed, her eyes glowing with absolute delight. "See, didn't I tell you it would be great?" A voice called from behind Zoë. She looked behind her and saw her friend JP Shibayama, who was going into his sophomore year at Odaiba University.

JP had always had a crush on Zoë, ever since they were children. But, the feelings were never reciprocated. When their adventures in the Digital World ended, though, JP fought over Zoë's affection with Takuya, who had also fallen for the Warrior of Wind. But, in the end, she ended up choosing Takuya over JP. This, in Zoë's opinion, was the worst mistake she had made in her life.

Being with Takuya had been an emotional rollercoaster for Zoë. Takuya and her have broken more times than they have saved the world from absolute destruction. And very often they were jumping into action, trying to stop some raving Digimon from trying to take over the Real World and the Digital one. It was mainly due to Takuya's insecurity, often accusing Zoë of cheating on him with some other guy. This was NEVER the case. Okay, so she flirted with a couple guys here and there, but she didn't actually DO anything with them. There wasn't anything wrong with flirting, though... was there?

Zoë had broken up and gotten back together with Takuya more times than she can remember, and after a while, it just gets to be really tiring and stressful.

She was moving into a new city, new school, and a new life. That would be hard, however, because Takuya would be staying in the same building as her. But, she promised herself before leaving Shibuya that she would do her best to avoid Takuya's charm and NOT start dating him again. But, there was something about the goggle boy that always drew Zoë back... but she would NEVER reveal what it was to anyone. It was her own personal problem that she would have to deal with.

"I didn't think it would be this huge," Zoë said as she continued to gawk at the large apartment complex.

"I tried to tell you, but NOOOO! Don't listen to JP!" The warrior of thunder said as he made his way to the trunk where Zoë's stuffed was stored.

Since JP had moved in his apartment the day before, he had agreed to help Zoë move in for the first time. She may have turned him down time and time again, but that didn't mean that he would become cold and heartless towards the girl. There would always be some kind of feeling there that he would never be able to get rid of. It just wasn't as strong as it was back when they were kids.

"Okay, okay, JP. You were right," she said with a small smile on her face as she, herself headed to the trunk where her stuff was.

JP opened up the trunk to reveal hundreds of boxes that seemed to be endless. "Geez, Zoë. What you did do, pack your entire room?" JP joked as he suddenly realized that Zoë did, in fact, have a lot of luggage around. It didn't look like so much when they were loading it up, and he wondered how in the world all of these boxes fit in the back of the truck.

"I wasn't sure how much stuff to bring!" Zoë said sheepishly as she moved one single box and put it on the ground. The box that had been removed revealed four small Digimon that were all curled up in a box of their own.

It was the Digimon Sovereigns in their rookie forms.

When the Zoë and her friends had first arrived in the Digital World, they found it under siege by a powerful Digimon known as Fanglongmon. He once the ruler of the entire Digital World, but once Lucemon had come long ago; he was corrupted by power and sought out to rule the entire Digital World, and then move on to the Real World.

The other four Digimon Sovereigns had tried their best to save their once kind leader, but once Fanglongmon had the five of the other Legendary Warriors under his control, the four Harmonious Ones fell one by one. That is until Zoë and the other Legendary Warriors fought and triumphed over Fanglongmon and his minions. Once they defeated Fanglongmon, the other four Harmonious Ones were reborn as their rookie forms. They have been in the company of the Legendary Warriors ever since. Even though they know of the role they will have to play once they become ready and trained, they still don't have the necessary discipline to become the Sovereigns once again.

So they have been staying in the Real World with the gang for the entire summer and Zoë has even decided to bring them along with her to her new life in Odaiba. She just hopes that they don't cause too much trouble, seeing as how their caretakers, Bokomon and Neemon are off keeping order in the Digital World.

"I still don't think it was a good idea to bring those little squirts," JP said nodding towards the small sleeping Digimon.

"Yeah, but what was I supposed to do? I couldn't just leave them in Shibuya," Zoë said, smiling down at them.

"You could've given them to Tommy to look after."

Zoë thought about that for a second. And not for the first time realized the JP had made more sense out of a situation than she had. "Okay, you have a point. I just wanted to get out of Shibuya as soon as possible..." She had started her sentence but trailed off. She didn't have to finish, though, because JP already knew the answer.

The two of them had rushed out of Shibuya to avoid any awkward moments between Takuya and Zoë. The both of them knew that Takuya was going to try and get one last conversation in before they all headed off to Odaiba, and Zoë promised herself that that part of her life would stay right where she left it... in the past.

"Hey, don't worry about it. If they become too much for you to handle, you can just send them over to my place. I'll look after them," JP said as he put one of his large hands on Zoë's shoulder. She smiled at her friend and said, "Thanks, JP. For everything."

"Not a problem! Now let's get all this stuff unloaded and into your room. Uh... what's the apartment number?"

Zoë didn't need to look at her Retrostare letters to figure that one out. She had memorized her apartment number by the third day she had seen it.

"Apartment # 1142."

* * *

"_Welcome to Hypnos._"

Riley and Tally entered the elevator as it welcomed them back to their old headquarters, the Hypnos building. It had been a short two hour drive back to West Shinjuku and didn't take her and Tally long to suit up and before either of them knew it, they were being welcomed back to their old job by the computerized voice that used to greet them every morning they came in for work.

"Man, brings back old memories, huh?" Tally asked.

"Yeah, but not many of them were good," Riley answered. "We were either trying to stop some wild creature from entering our world... or trying to stop it from destroying it."

The elevator stopped with a 'ding' and its doors opened to reveal the place that they all used to work. It was reformed, however. When Riley and Tally used to work here, it was nothing more than a giant room filled with computers and high chairs that expanded about ten feet in the air. Not to mention the darkness that always used to reside in the room.

Now the room was made to look a lot more... office-type looking.

It had many more windows than Riley had remembered, and carpet had been placed where tile flooring once was. Desks and lounging chairs were everywhere, and unless she was mistaken, Hypnos seemed to have gone on splurge about hiring people, because Riley noticed a LOT more people were running around in different color suits.

"I'm glad you made it here so quickly," a voice called out to the two women. Riley turned to see an old face she hadn't seen in long time. It was Mitsuo Yamaki, dressed in his usual attire of a semi-formal blue suit and slacks. He wasn't adorning his face with black the shades, however. And seeing as how sunlight was now streaming through the office, one would think that he would have them on.

"Of all the people I've worked with over my tenure, you two are the ones I trust the most. We always did make a good team," Yamaki continued as he walked up to his old employees.

"I'm not going to disagree with you," Riley smirked. "So why are we here? What's the situation?"

Yamaki remained silent as he headed over to one of the office desks that a man in an orange jumpsuit had just put a bunch of files on top of. Yamaki sat down on a lounge chair that was place conveniently behind the desk. He opened up the folder that was placed on the desk while fiddling with his lighter, something that had become a trademark behavior. He motioned for Riley and Tally to sit down in two wooden seats that were in front of the desk, making Yamaki look something like a principle at a high school. The two women nervously sat down in the seats as Yamaki rubbed his temples. This was a mission briefing.

"I haven't faced anything like this in five years," Yamaki began. "It's a threat I didn't think I'd have to deal with again. It's... Digimon."

Riley felt a chill go down her spine. The mere mention of Digital Monsters was enough to bring back awful memories of five years ago and the attacks of the Devas and the D-Reaper. And now Yamaki was telling them that the new threat had to do... with Digimon. If this was anything like the last threat of Digimon, then they would all have their hands full.

"There's a report that Evil Digimon are looking to infiltrate our world once again," Yamaki continued. "But there's much more to this than meets the eye. The reports indicate that there may already be a human on the inside working to get them in. There's a mole in there. It is unknown as to whether the mole is helping them willingly or if the mole is under the influence of one of those Evil Digimon. But either way, there's a mess brewing and it looks like it's up to us to clean it up."

Riley and Talley exchanged glances and looked back at Yamaki. "How?"

"It won't be easy, but it's up to us to find the mole and put a stop to him or her before Evil Digimon run rampant in this world again. We don't know who exactly the mole is, but we have narrowed down where the mole is. It's in Odaiba University."

"The mole's in a college institution?" Riley asked in surprise.

Yamaki nodded. "It could very well be anybody. It could be a student, a professor, or even the janitor. For all we know, it doesn't even have to be any of those people. It could just be someone close to them or the institution. All we know is that they are somehow tied to Odaiba University. If we don't do something soon, this person could bring an Evil Digimon to this world."

"But what can we possibly do?" Talley asked.

"I'm glad you asked," Yamaki grinned. "You'll know when you get there... Professor Ootori and Professor Onodera."

Riley's mouth was agape. "You MUST be joking."

"We're all going undercover as Odaiba University professors," Yamaki clarified. "We have a long mission ahead of us. And we will remain undercover for as long as it takes to flush out the mole."

Riley sighed at the remark. This was not the welcome back that she was expecting. "No worries, though," Yamaki continued as he pressed a button located on the side of the desk. "We have a trump card in our possession."

Tally and Riley merely sat silently as Yamaki spoke into the intercom.

"Trump card?" Riley asked as Yamaki said, "Send her in."

The person on the other end, which was a male, spoke in a hurried and tired voice. "Right away, sir."

Once he was finished, Yamaki stood up and Riley and Tally followed suit. Tally cleared her throat. "Uh... sir?"

"I'd prefer you address me as Professor Yamaki from now on."

Riley shook her head. "Oh geez..."

Tally cleared her throat again. "Uh... Professor Yamaki? Just when is this undercover mission starting?"

"We leave immediately," Yamaki answered. "We should make it to the university tonight."

The more that Riley listened to the briefing, the more unreal it was becoming. She couldn't believe that in a matter of moments, she went from being on vacation to going undercover. Just then, the elevator had sounded with another 'ding,' and a young woman with red, short hair had walked in. She was wearing a small, red halter-top shirt and jeans. A small device was hanging around her neck as she entered the room with a serious expression on her face.

"Professor Ootori... Professor Onodera... I'd like for you to meet your newest colleague and team member, Yoshino Fujieda," Yamaki introduced as he walked over to the woman and shook her hand. "Glad to have you with us, Agent Fujieda."

The woman shook his hand and nodded towards Riley and Tally. "Thank you for having me. I can be ready in under an hour to leave for Odaiba."

After the introductions were over, Yamaki turned back once more to Riley and Tally, who had looked more confused than ever. "Professors... Yoshino will be accompanying us on our undercover mission to Odaiba University. Seeing as how she's a new breed... of a Digimon Tamer."

Riley and Tally exchanged surprised glances. This will be a VERY long mission.

* * *

Kazu Shiota was in a deep state of thought. He looked around his room, once again observing his surroundings. But he wasn't paying attention to his best friend, Kenta Kitagawa. Nor was he paying to Kenta's partner Digimon, MarineAngemon, who was being his usual silent self. He wasn't paying attention to anything else... except his own partner Digimon.

Kazu couldn't take his eyes off Guardromon. For years, he managed to keep the champion-level android Digimon hidden. Even though he was pretty big, Kazu never had a problem hiding him. All he had to do was pass him off as a life-sized robot toy. But now there was this new obstacle that Kazu had to face. He was going off to a new life at Odaiba University. He was packed and ready to go live his freshman year along with his best friend and roommate, Kenta. But he couldn't think of a single way to get Guardromon into his apartment.

Kenta shook his head. "Kazu, face it. There's no way we can take Guardromon with us."

Kazu remained persistent. "Hmm... no... I'll think of something."

"Can I fit in the trunk?" Guardromon offered.

"For the last time, NO!" Kenta groaned.

Kazu's head was starting to hurt at this point. One of the things he liked most about Guardromon was that he was both an irresistible force AND an immovable object on the battlefield. His firepower was almost unmatched by any champion-level Digimon. Of course, the big android's size was going to be a huge issue this time around.

"I can't believe we're going to have to make two trips," Kazu griped.

"It's better than trying to squeeze him in with all our stuff," Kenta pointed out.

Kazu walked over and put his arm on Guardromon's shoulder. "Well, big guy, I guess you're going to have to stay here for right now. But I'll come back for you. Will you be ok?"

"You're going off by yourself, Kazu?" Guardromon asked.

"I'll be ok," Kazu said casually. "I'm a tough guy. But don't think I'm leaving you behind. Trust me. We'll come back for you in about a week. In the meantime, you guard my room against any intruders. Except my parents, of course."

"Will do. Good luck, Kazu."

Kazu sighed as he walked out of his room with his suitcase. Kenta, with MarineAngemon in his pocket, followed behind him. Kazu didn't want to leave his partner, but it was just impossible to bring him along now.

"Kazu, and how are we going to sneak him in next week?"

Kazu wasn't deterred. He still had a big grin on his face. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

* * *

Kari looked around her room. Boxes were scattered all over the place and it looked like it would be a tough task to empty them all out. Luckily, Yolei was here to help her out since this was likely to take a while. But admittedly, the room looked... pretty big.

"Whew, finally done," Yolei said as she wiped a bead of sweat that was forming on her forehead.

Kari sighed as the two of them walked out of Kari's room and into the main living room. "This apartment is bigger than I thought it would be," she said as she walked into the kitchen.

Kari still had no idea who her other three roommates were, seeing as how her and Yolei were the only two people in the entire apartment. She was still feeling pretty wary about the whole thing, and now that she was all moved in, she was even more anxious for them to show up.

Yolei opened the fridge and looked into the empty container. "Geez, I keep forgetting that we still are going to have to go grocery shopping," she said as she closed the door and walked towards the door that led out into the main hallway.

"Can we go after we finish up here?" Kari asked.

"That's exactly what I was about to suggest," Yolei replied back.

Before the two could walk out the door however, it opened up by itself. The two girls came face-to-face with a girl that had long, blonde hair with a purple bandanna covering the top of it. She had on a white T-shirt that showed her bellybutton and a pair of jeans that looked extremely tight on her. She was carrying a purple purse and looked just as confused as Kari and Yolei did. "Uh... am I in the right room?"

Kari smiled knowingly, happy to find at least one of the people she would be rooming with. "Were you assigned to apartment #1142?" Kari asked with a grin. The girl reached in her purse and pulled out a piece of paper, showing the 1142 on it. "Yeah... I guess that makes you... my roommate?" She asked slowly, as if Kari wasn't up to par to understand her. Kari grinned even wider, her anxiety subsiding a great deal. "Hi, my name's Kari!"

The girl smiled back, putting out her hand for a handshake. "_Fantastico_! My name's Zoë!"

The two girls exchanged handshakes as Zoë entered further in the apartment, looking around the living room as she did. "This place is pretty big, huh?" Zoë said, obviously trying to make general conversation. Before Kari could answer her, though, a chubby boy with a yellow and blue jumpsuit walked in the room carrying two boxes at a time. "Hey, Zee! A little help!"

Zoë turned around and an immediate distraught expression befell he face. "Sorry, JP! I completely forgot!" She ran over to the boy and grabbed the box that was on top and put right by the front door. Kari looked over to Yolei as she the older girl gave a slight gasp as she saw the boy.

"JP!"

The boy, whose name seemed to have been JP (obviously) looked over and gave a sheepish smile and put the box he was holding down by the one Zoë had just sat down. "Hey, Yolei!"

Kari and Zoë exchanged glances at each other, and then to each of their friends. "You know each other?" they asked in unison. Yolei laughed as she said, "Yeah, JP and I were in the same English 101 class last year. And believe me, if it wasn't for me, than he would be repeating that class and had to deal with Professor Zeke again."

JP had seemed hurt and embarrassed by this remark as he shot Yolei a death glare. "Yolei, you only helped with one test in that class. It wasn't like I was failing during the entire semester!" he replied in an angry tone.

"Yeah... you only needed help on the midterm," Yolei said with a smirk on her face that seemed to have just an ample amount of superiority laced in it. JP grunted as he put his hands in his pocket and took out a large chocolate bar and opened the wrapper. He tore a piece off of it as if it had done something to him in a previous life.

"So... are you two... umm..." Kari had began to ask if Zoë and JP were dating, but decided against it, seeing as how they had only just met and didn't want to seem like the roommate that turned out to be TOO nosey. Zoë had caught on and answered the question, anyway. "Oh no! JP and I are just really good friends," she said, giving JP a quick smile and looking back to Kari. "When did you get here?" she asked Kari as the four of them moved to the living room, the front door still wide open.

"Not too long ago. All my stuff is in my room, though," Kari said as she sat down on the couch. Zoë's eyes lit up as she said this. "Oh! I better go and claim mine's before the other two roomies get here!" The blonde-headed girl picked up one of the boxes that she brought in and walked deeper into the apartment, scoping out the other three empty rooms. JP gave Yolei a disgruntled look before following Zoë into the hall that led to the other rooms.

"That JP hasn't changed a bit," Yolei said with a smirk as she walked towards the front door. "Well, Kari, now you know at least ONE of your roommates. Feeling any better?" she asks her friend as the head out into the hallway, where other students were moving into their apartment. "Yeah. Zoë seems nice enough, but you can't forget, we just met," Kari said with doubt. First impressions aren't always the way to judge others. Especially if you're going to be living with the other person. "Yeah, but you should give her the benefit of the doubt," Yolei advised her friend.

The two of them passed the girl that they had met earlier in the lobby. The one with the not-so-good attitude... that Rika girl. She walked passed them with a box underneath her arm and walked to the door that sat across from Kari and Zoë's room. She sat the box on the ground beside her and pulled out a small, golden key. She put the key in the keyhole to her room, but when she turned it to pull it open, the door didn't budge. She gave a quick sigh and a grunt with a frown before trying the key again. But, once again, the door didn't give in. By then, it was obvious that Rika was beginning to lose patience with the stubborn door. She put the key in for a third time, this time more forceful than the last. When the door didn't open, once again, she began to pull the doorknob with all the strength she could muster.

"Hey! What gives? What the heck's wrong with this thing?"

At that moment, Zoë and JP walked out their apartment door as Kari and Yolei began walking towards Rika. "What's the matter?" Yolei asked.

Rika grunted as she tried to push the door open. "This door... won't... **OPEN**!"

"The door won't open because the room's being fixed," an unfamiliar voice said.

Kari, Yolei, Zoë, JP, and Rika looked over down the hall to see a middle-aged woman walking towards them. She had long red hair to go with a black blouse and long skirt. And she wore a pair of dark sunglasses, which she removed ever-so-slowly, revealing a pair of hazel eyes. She slowly looked around the hall.

"So this is it. I must say, it looks much nicer than I imagined." The woman turned to the baffled group. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm a new student here at Odaiba University, resuming my education in hopes of coming out of this year with my Master's Degree. I wasn't expecting to get housing this year, but a friend of mine not only pulled some strings for me, but I'm also your new Resident Director. My name's Layla Mackenzie. And it's very nice to meet all of you."

Kari gave warm smile and said, "It's nice to meet you, too." In the meantime Zoë just nodded while Rika... didn't smile at all. "Charmed. But what was that you were saying about my room?"

"Well, there is something wrong with air conditioner and we also found out that there isn't any heat circulating the apartment, either. But, don't worry. We have people working around the clock trying to fix this small matter. I'm afraid that repair will go on at least until next semester, however."

Rika's eyes widened. "So what are you saying? I have no place to stay?!"

"It seemed that way at first," Ms. Mackenzie said calmly. "But luckily, we had a break." She walked up to Kari and Zoë. "Hmm... Kari Kamiya and Zoë Orimoto, I presume?"

Zoë and Kari looked warily at each other first before turning to Ms. Mackenzie. They both nodded, signaling that she had the right people.

"Well, I'm afraid that one of your roommates was unable to make it this term and told the Admissions Office that they weren't able to attend until next year. Family matters, I presume. And your other roommate ended up transferring from the university at the last second. However, they both turned out to be a blessing in disguise."

"Why is that?" Yolei asked.

"Because that gives us a chance to move the two girls in Apartment #1143 and #1142. Now you girls will have two other roommates beside the ones you were supposed have. Kari, Zoë, I'd like both of you two to meet one of your new roommates, Rika Nonaka."

Rika had a look of pure disbelief on her face. "You've GOT to be kidding! I'm staying with **_her_**?" she said as she pointed towards Kari. Kari's face hung low as a frown appeared over Zoë's face ever-so-suddenly that nobody but JP noticed.

"There are two extra rooms in Kari and Zoë's apartment so there shouldn't be a problem. I'm sure that once you all get to know each other, you'll get along just fine."

Rika turned and shot Kari a death glare. Kari only smiled sheepishly while the frown on Zoë's face became more apparent. Rika turned to Zoë and looked the blonde up and down before noticing the frown that called Zoë's face home. "Is there a problem?" Rika asked Zoë snappily, but didn't get a reply from the other girl, just a more natural frown and a grunt.

"I can feel I'm going to like it here," Ms. Mackenzie said happily. "But there are two more people you should meet."

"Who's that?" Kari asked curiously.

"Your floor's Resident Advisors. A senior and a junior. They should arrive very shortly."

As if on cue, everyone started hearing footsteps. Ms. Mackenzie looked back and saw the RA's making their arrival. And Kari gasped when she saw who they were. They were two _very_ familiar faces.

Sora Takenouchi and Mimi Tachikawa.

"These are your RA's, Sora and Mimi."

Sora and Mimi smiled and waved cheerfully... before winking at Kari. Kari's jaw just about dropped open. The last thing she expected to see was her two friends as RA's. No one ever clued her in about it or even hinted towards such a thing happening. Sora and Mimi must have kept this a secret for months.

But when she thought about everything, Kari smiled. This was actually the best thing that could have happened. Kari felt a little relieved to have some friends as RA's. Maybe she wouldn't feel so alone now.

"Now, we'll leave you girls alone to get better acquainted. Come along, RA's. It's time for a meeting."

Ms. Mackenzie walked off with Sora and Mimi both in tow. Kari smiled at the thought of being around some familiar friends. But when she turned her head to see the sour Rika, she was quickly brought back down to reality. Feeling some tension, Kari hoped to relieve it by trying to be friendly again.

Kari reached over for Rika's hand. "I can tell we're going to get along just fine, Rika. I hope we'll be close friends."

Somehow, though, Kari sensed this wasn't getting her anywhere, because Rika just pulled her hand away... and shot Kari another cold stare. If looks could kill...

"I'd better go get my things," she said bitterly. "And maybe I'll make a quick stop in the bathroom first. I'll be lucky if I don't puke."

Zoë's frown became so apparent, that everyone around could feel a sort of icy cold coming from her. Not only that, but a strong wind seemed to have come from somewhere, but no windows were nearby. Zoë's long hair began swaying in the unseen wind as she stared Rika down. JP suddenly became much more active instead of just sitting on the sidelines like he had been doing since they bumped into Rika. "Uh, Zee, don't you think we should go get the rest of your stuff?" He asked the girl quickly. The wind suddenly stopped as Zoë seemed to have been brought back down to Earth. "That's a great idea, JP," she said as she stuck her nose up in the air in snotty way. "I need a little bit of fresh air from all the stinky attitudes," she added as she gave a quick look to Rika.

Before the other girls could say anything, JP had quickly grabbed Zoë's arm and literally dragged her away. Kari had an urge to follow her but thought that it would be best to give Zoë her space. She would've much rather went with JP and Zoë than stay with the unfriendly Rika.

Rika scowled at the disappearing forms of Zoë and JP and began walking in the other direction the exit closest to them. Kari frowned as she saw Rika walking away. She sadly turned to her only friend present, Yolei. And much to Kari's dismay, Yolei didn't give her any kind of reassuring look.

"I get the feeling that Rika doesn't like me," Kari finally said.

"What was your first clue?" Yolei muttered. She quickly backtracked when she saw Kari's frown grow. "I mean... I don't see why she wouldn't like you, Kari. You're totally one of a kind. You'll win her over eventually. Besides, you'll always have Zoë to talk to, and she seems to be the much more friendlier type."

That relieved Kari somewhat. "Thanks, Yolei."

"But for right now, you'll have to do that without me. I have a club meeting to get to in a few minutes. When I come back we can go to the grocery store and stock up your fridge, okay?"

"Ok, thanks Yolei!"

Yolei began walking down the hall and Kari was really by herself. She walked back into the now empty apartment and walk to her room in solitude. Once she got there, she shut the door and made sure to lock it. She just wanted to be by herself and ponder her thoughts. At least she THOUGHT she was by herself.

"Kari?"

Kari gasped. She had completely forgotten about her _other_ friend. "Gatomon!"

Gatomon was hiding behind some of the boxes, trying to keep herself unnoticeable. And it was a good thing, too. Kari had forgotten about her companion and now it appeared that yet another complication had arisen.

"Should we clean this up?" Gatomon asked.

"_I'll_ clean this up!" Kari replied. "I don't want you to leave this room! I've got enough problems with one of my new roommates. I don't need her finding out about you."

"Good point," Gatomon concurred. "I'd hate to give her any more reason to hate you."

Kari frowned again. "She doesn't hate me... does she?"

Gatomon stammered, trying to find something comforting to say. "Um... uh... er... of course not! Did I say 'hate'? I meant to say... um... uh..."

Kari's face fell. "She _does_ hate me, doesn't she?"

"Now... It's too early to say that," Gatomon said comfortingly. "But I wouldn't rule it out. There are times in life when you meet someone who just... doesn't like you for any reason. Believe me. It's even happened to me before."

That made Kari curious. "Really?"

Gatomon nodded. "Really."

Kari and Gatomon both took a seat on Kari's new bed, which did feel pretty comfortable.

"Let me tell you a story, Kari," Gatomon explained. "I'll keep it short in case little Miss Sunshine comes back. Before I met Myotismon, I used to travel all over the Digital World looking for my partner. And along the way I met all kinds of different Digimon. Being all alone, I tried to be friendly to everyone. I wanted to make some new friends, since I really didn't have anybody to fall back on. But... there was this one Digimon who just didn't like me for whatever reason. And she made it known that I wasn't welcome around her territory or around her friends. To this day, I still don't know why she didn't like me, but it's like she just... hated me. So I know what you're going through."

"It's hard to imagine that, Gatomon," Kari said softly. "I'm sorry you went through that."

"Ah, don't worry about it," Gatomon said casually. "I haven't seen her since then, so it's no big deal. As long as I don't ever have to hear the name **Renamon** again, I'll be just fine."

Kari smiled. She was always able to confide in Gatomon for anything. And much to her amazement... Gatomon was actually able to relate to Kari on this one. That made her feel even better.

It was a good thing Gatomon kept her story short, as soon as she was finished, the apartment's doorbell rang throughout the room. "Who could that be?" Kari asked before getting off the bed and heading for the door. Before she left, she turned to her Digimon and said, "Gatomon, _stay in here_!" she emphasized the last three words as if it were a life-and-death situation. "Okay, okay, don't get your tail in a bunch," Gatomon replied to her partner as she hopped off of Kari's bed and rolled underneath it. Satisfied, Kari left the room and headed into the living room. She walked to the front door and opened it, coming face-to-face with brown hair that just went down below her neck, with some of it arranged in a nice ponytail. She was wearing a green blouse and green skirt and was lugging around what looked like a large red lizard stuffed animal. The girl looked nervously at Kari before speaking, "Uh, can I use your phone? I have to call the lobby and let them know that my key isn't working to my room," she said as she gave Kari a warm smile.

Kari realized that this must've been Rika's roommate. And frankly, she was expecting the worst, especially after having met Rika. "Are you supposed to be in #1143?" she asked the girl kindly. The brunette looked a little taken aback and then said, "Um... yeah. The door won't open."

"That's because they're fixing the room up. Something to do with the heating and cooling system."

The girl's face became crestfallen as she heard these words. "Are you serious? But... now where I am going to stay?"

"The Resident Director was just here," Kari clarified. "It looks like you and your roommate will be staying with me and my roommate for the year. Uh... so I guess I'm your new roommate!" She extended the hand of friendship. "My name's Kari."

Unlike Rika, this girl smiled back. And she shook Kari's hand cheerfully. "It's really nice to meet you! My name's Jeri!"

Kari's face brightened. "It's nice to meet you, too!" Then she realized that she was still standing in front of the door. "Oh, please, come in!"

Kari led Jeri into the new apartment and towards the living room, where a couple scattered boxes were here and there and the TV was sitting in silence. "So what do think?" Kari asked her new roommate as she watched Jeri look around the spacious living room and move to the kitchen. She looked in the fridge and when she found that it was emptier than a desert, a small frown covered her face. But, her smile soon returned as she turned back to face Kari. "Looks like we need to do a little grocery shopping," she said as she walked away from the sink.

Kari laughed. "My friend had said the same thing earlier."

"You think we can brighten this room up a little?" Jeri suggested.

"I think we could!" Kari said energetically.

"I have some plants that I could put over here to make the kitchen look a little more... quaint!"

"That's great! Just don't take that wall. I have a lot of pictures I'm planning to put up."

"This is gonna be so much fun!"

Kari giggled. "You sound like the happy type." She took a look outside. "What's that you have outside?"

Jeri looked out... and sweatdropped. "T-That? That's... a... stuffed animal!"

"Is it yours?" Kari asked.

Jeri shook her head nervously. "Actually... it isn't. I'm holding it for someone. A... friend of mine."

Kari blinked. "You sound awfully nervous about it."

"Oh... it's just that... well... I didn't think any other girls would have stuffed animals here."

It sounded like Jeri was very apprehensive about having that big red lizard stuffed animal here, so Kari tried to put her at ease. "Hold on a sec," she said as she quickly walked back to her room. Gatomon had came back from under the bed and smiled, but when Kari had picked her up and brought her out of the room, the small Digimon immediately froze like a stuffed animal.

"This is a stuffed animal I've had for a while," Kari said comfortingly. "You don't have to be embarrassed."

Jeri smiled. "That's great to hear. I didn't mean to sound nervous. It's just that... well... that stuffed animal is a little different. Um... and b-b-by different... I mean... it's special. Sentimental value, you know?"

"I know all about sentimental value," Kari nodded. "It's ok."

Jeri didn't look so nervous anymore. "That's nice to hear. You sound like a nice girl, Kari."

Kari smiled. "Thanks, Jeri. You sound nice, too." She looked around the room. "It WILL be fun here... won't it?"

At that moment, Zoë and JP returned with loads more boxes, one of which seemed to be moving.

"Can you please control them? I don't want-" Zoë quickly stopped herself when she saw Kari standing there with Gatomon and Jeri with a life-size stuffed animal sitting in a grocery cart. One of the boxes that JP was holding still seemed to be moving wildly, but none of them had a chance to ponder it, seeing as how he took a mad dash towards the room that Zoë had claimed as hers.

"Umm... Hi!" Zoë said cheerfully as she walked up to Jeri, a hand extended.

"Hi! My name's Jeri!"

Kari took this as an opportunity to introduce the both of them. "Jeri this is my original roommate, Zoë. Zoë, this is Rika's roommate, Jeri. She got here not too long ago."

The frown had returned to Zoë's face at the mere mention of Rika, and apparently she was thinking the same thing Kari though of earlier: If Rika and Jeri were going to be roommates originally, than they must have the same kind of attitude.

"How in the world did you get mixed up with someone like Rika?" Zoë said in a not-so-subtle way. Jeri gave a look of confusion before Kari quickly butted in. "Okay, now, let's not assume nothing too quickly, Zoë. We don't even know her, yet."

Zoë didn't let up her rave. "Exactly! We don't even know her so those remarks she said to you were completely uncalled for!"

Kari smiled at this, glad that she at least had Zoë on her side. She had a feeling that the two of them would be good friends.

"Oh, Rika? Well, that's just..." Jeri had started a sentence as to why Rika acted the way she did, but as if on cue... Rika came back with some of her boxes. As soon as she saw Kari, Zoë, and Jeri... she sweatdropped.

"Oh great. I'm gonna be rooming with the Golden Girls."

Before Zoë could say anything else, Jeri cut in. "It's nice to see you, too, Rika," Jeri said dryly. "I've see you met our two...?"

"Obviously!" Rika snapped as she furiously dropped a box on the floor.

Zoë close her eyes again as an unseen wind began blowing, but it didn't last long as she walked further in the apartment towards her room without saying a word to any of them before departing.

Jeri noticed Rika's less than jovial demeanor, Jeri suddenly looked like she had an idea. A smirk widened on her face and she dug into one of her boxes. She pulled something out and walked up to Rika... with a sock puppet on her hand.

"Come on, Rika. We're all gonna live together, why don't you just smile?"

A vein nearly popped out of Rika's forehead. "What have I told you about that creepy sock puppet?! Get it away from me!"

Kari took a step back herself. She always thought of herself as an open-minded young lady. But as nice as Jeri appeared, even Kari had to admit that the sock puppet looked... a little on the creepy side.

Jeri turned to Kari and giggled as she held up her sock puppet. Kari could only return the smile, albeit an uneasy smile.

"Uh... nice sock..."

"Thanks."

Kari just nodded uneasily. This was going to be a VERY interesting year.

* * *

Davis, TK, and Ken all walked down the hall of the first floor after they had finished the grueling task of unpacking and organizing their apartment. With their new place looking cleaner than it ever has (and with the Digimon all staying behind), the three boys decided to go meet their neighbors.

And that brought them down the hall, where they saw one of the doors was slightly ajar.

"You think anyone's in there?" TK asked.

"There's only one way to find out," Davis said impulsively.

"Uh... Davis..." Ken warned. "Shouldn't we _knock_ first?"

"Ken... this door's just begging for us to come right in. What could possibly happen?"

With that, Davis put a hand on the doorknob...

* * *

Henry was just finishing up cleaning up the living room while Takato walked to the plastic trash can with some of the trash they had gathered. It looked like Takato's anger was just starting to simmer down and that relieved Henry. He knew what happened earlier was just an accident. It was a good thing that Kazu and Kenta weren't around to instigate any trouble. The only possible instigator present was Terriermon, who was calmly sitting on the couch watching the brand new big screen TV.

**THUD**

"OW!"

Henry turned around at the sound of that hard collision while Terriermon immediately went into stuffed animal mode. Henry turned to see... that SAME GUY who knocked Takato over earlier.

"Hey neighbors!" the guy said cheerfully... and ignorantly. "Uh... and by neighbors... shouldn't there be more than one of you?"

Henry sweatdropped. "Um... maybe you should look behind the door."

The guy blinked and looked over behind the door... and saw Takato lying on the ground, holding his nose. Takato got up by himself and shot the guy a cold stare. Meanwhile, another two guys walked through the door and stood next to the clumsy guy who clobbered Takato with the door.

"Hi!" the guy in the white hat greeted. "You guys just get here?"

"We've been here for about an hour," Henry answered. "Are you our neighbors?"

The guy in the hat nodded. "We live in Apartment #901 down the hall. My name's TK. This is Ken. And... that's Davis."

Takato rubbed his nose painfully. "Davis, huh?"

Henry could sense Takato's anger rising, so he quickly cut in. "Uh... nice to meet you guys! I'm Henry and this is Takato."

Davis held out the hand of friendship. "Nice meeting you, Takato. I don't know why, but I feel like I've seen you somewhere before. Um... is there something wrong with your nose?"

"You **hit** me with the door!" Takato snapped as he continued rubbing his nose.

Davis sweatdropped. "Oh... sorry about that."

"You'll have to forgive him," TK added. "Davis can be pretty clumsy sometimes."

Davis nodded... then stopped when he thought of what TK said. Meanwhile, Takato was obviously a little more than irritated. Henry shot Takato a glance to try and calm him down. It looked to be working, but a part of that had to be because of Takato's inherent good nature.

The Ken guy walked over towards a familiar box. "Hey... what's this?"

"That's the Digimon Card Game," Henry answered proudly. "Takato and I have played since we were kids."

TK blinked... and looked like he was in shock. "Card... game?"

"There's a **_card game_**?" Davis added.

Takato tilted his head. "You've... never heard of it?"

Henry was also amazed by this. "You've really never heard of Digimon?"

Davis was about to say something before Ken covered his mouth. TK stepped forward and started pushing the two guys out.

"Digimon?" TK repeated. "We've... never heard of it."

Takato shook his head. "That's hard to believe. It's been really popular around where we're from. We've got to teach you guys!"

"Just don't teach them how to beat us, Takato," Henry grinned.

Davis looked like he really wanted to say something, but Ken kept covering his mouth. And TK kept pushing them out.

"Well... it was really nice meeting you guys," TK stammered. "We'll be sure to come back. And feel free to visit us anytime. See you guys later!"

The three boys rushed out and shut the door. Henry and Takato both sweatdropped. Takato was about to say something as he went back to unpacking, but then the door flew open again...

"OW!!"

...and nailed Takato in the nose again. Once again, it was Davis, and he had Henry's cards.

"We forgot to give these back to you. See ya."

Davis closed the door and Takato just rubbed his nose painfully. Henry made sure no one else was coming back in and once the coast was clear, Terriermon leaped off the couch and onto his feet.

"What a klutz!" Terriermon growled. "Oh well... at least it isn't ME getting my nose smashed in."

Henry shook his head... and wondered why those three boys were so quick to leave. It couldn't be because... they _weren't_ fans, were they? Henry had never met anyone who didn't get into the card game right away. Even Jeri got into it when she first played. It just wasn't possible. It was sure weird.

For Takato, however, this whole day was just getting painful. It didn't look like he would be very willing to get along with this clumsy Davis guy.

"This is gonna be a LONG year..."


	3. Disagreements

"You got suspended from school, **AGAIN**?!"

Seventeen-year-old Marcus Damon flinched as his mother yelled at the top of her lungs at him. He hated seeing his mother like this, but time-and-time again Marcus was always giving her reason to blow up at him.

"Mom, it wasn't my fault," Marcus tried fruitlessly to plead his case, but it wasn't working in his -mother's case. She stopped mid-sentence by putting her hand up, a signal that said it wasn't his time to say anything. "Marcus, this going to have to stop," she said calmly as she closed her eyes in aggravation. "Every time you feel like someone has disrespected you, you can't just punch his lights out for it."

Marcus didn't like those words. He had gotten in another fight at school earlier that day with another student who had bumped him in the hallway, seemingly on purpose. Marcus would have let it go without any kind of altercation, as long as the guy had apologized. Marcus was known around Odaiba High School for being hot-headed and having a short temper, so not too many people had associated themselves with him. Not that it bothered Marcus, though. He didn't mind being a loner; it gave him less thing to worry about in the long run.

But, the guy that he had gotten in a fight with earlier DIDN'T apologize. What's worse, he thought that Marcus was pushover and he could talk and treat him anyway he wanted. Clearly, this guy didn't know what Marcus Damon was known for. In other words, the two boys talked it out... with their fists. Unfortunately, fighting in school isn't the best idea that Marcus made in his seventeen year of living. Not that this was the first time, though. This is third fight in three months that Marcus has been in, and making a total five times he's been suspended from Odaiba High. The next time would be expulsion, and his mother, Sarah Damon, was NOT going to stand for that.

"So you just want other people to push me around for the rest of my life?" Marcus argued back as he sat on the couch in his family's living room. Sarah sighed as she took a seat next to her son, putting a hand on his shoulder. "No, that's not what I'm saying," she started, her voicing softening quite a bit from a few seconds earlier. Marcus looked at her and noticed that her face had softened, as well. "But, if you get expelled from school than... I don't know what I'm going to do with you. I know you haven't forgotten that it's just me running the show for right now?"

Those words had sent a mix of emotions running through Marcus. His mother was a single mother... but the Damon's family situation was... complicated. His father had left them about a year ago, but he had promised he would return. It wasn't as if they were a broken home and his father wasn't a deadbeat Dad, either. He just could be inattentive at times. Spencer Damon was a good dad, nonetheless. "Yeah, Mom, I know..." Marcus said softly, feeling bad now that his Mom had laid it out in front of him. He hadn't meant to cause her so many headaches and problems, it just happened naturally.

"Sorry."

Sarah smiled at her son and gave him a hug. "Don't worry about it. Now go get your sister and you two go wash up for dinner."

Marcus got up from the couch and after taking ten feet, he screamed as loud as he could. "Kristy! Mom said time for dinner!"

Sarah sighed in exasperation at her son's antics. "I could've done that."

Marcus turned around and gave a goofy smile at his mother. He began walking towards the kitchen when his mother stopped him. "Oh, and Marcus?"

"Yeah, Mom?"

Sarah walked past him towards the kitchen with a mischievous smirk on her face, a sign that never led to good news, especially for Marcus. "This little understanding we've come to doesn't mean you're off the hook for being suspended. And until you go back to school next week, you're going to be staying with Aunt Diane," she said, her grin getting wider and wider as she continued to speak.

Marcus's heart sank at these words, so much so that he completely stopped in his tracks. "WHAT?"

His twelve-year-old sister, Kristy, ran past him and into the kitchen. "What's for dinner, Mom?"

"Meatloaf. Did you wash your hands?"

Marcus was amazed that his mother could drop that kind of announcement on him and then act like she didn't even say it. Marcus's Aunt Diane, his mother's younger sister, was a university teacher at Odaiba University and probably the biggest rule-maker and worrywart he'd ever known. He couldn't even remember the last time he visited her family. Along with her flamboyant husband, the two of them were an odd couple indeed. The only normal one that Marcus could stand to put up with was his sixteen-year-old cousin, Naomi, who was a year younger than him and a junior in high school.

"Mom, were you serious when you said I have to stay with Aunt Diane and Uncle Willy?" Marcus asked as he followed Kristy in the kitchen, who had already sat down with a plate of food. "Marcus gets to go stay with Auntie Diane?"

"Yes, Marcus, you do," Sarah said as she put a plate in front of her son, who had suddenly lost his appetite all together.

"But... Why?"

"Because Marcus, I have to work and Kristy has to go to school. You are not going to be lounging around here while we're not here."

"So you would rather have me lounge around there?"

Kristy looked back and forth from her brother to her mother. "I wanna go to Auntie Diane's house, too!"

Sarah took a seat at the table as she put a plate in front of her, too. "You are not going to be lounging, Marcus. You already know that Diane is going to give you some work to do around the college. Don't worry; Kristy and I are going this weekend because Diane's doing this seminar at the university, anyway. I'm sure you can find something to do with Naomi."

Marcus dug a fork into his meatloaf as if it had done disrespected him like the guy he beat up earlier had done. "Whatever," he said with anger, but being sure not to say it so loud that it seemed rude.

"I want you to pack your things. I'm going to take you over there in the morning."

Marcus's life had just taken a MAJOR turn for the worst. And he had a feeling that when he got to his aunt and uncle's house... it could only get worse.

* * *

Once Davis, TK, and Ken were all back in their apartment, they had tried to stomach the fact that there was actually a Digimon Card Game in existence. None of the three guys could piece it all together and even the Digimon were having trouble believing it. Veemon, Patamon, and Wormmon were all huddled up and trying to piece together what their human partners told them.

Veemon turned to the guys. "So ... ... you're saying ... ... there's a Digimon Card Game out there?"

Ken nodded. "Those were definitely cards with Digimon on them. It's all true."

"But how can that happen?" Davis asked. "And more importantly... shouldn't we be getting a cut of  
the profits?"

"You're thinking about PROFITS?" TK asked in amazement.

"Hey... if one of those cards has Veemon's face on it, don't you think I should get something for it?" Davis pointed out.

"Um... if it's got _my_ face on it, shouldn't it be _me_ getting a cut?" Veemon corrected dryly.

"You know, maybe it's just a regional thing," Ken thought. "Maybe the card game only exists in the city where they come from. That might explain why we've never heard of it. For all we know, someone might have witnessed the Highton View Terrace incident and decided to go back to wherever they came from and make a card game out of Digimon."

"You know, I just thought of something," TK said before smirking. "Those guys are all wrapped up in a Digimon Card Game... and they probably have no idea that Digimon really exist. It's kinda funny."

"Not that they'll ever find out," Ken added. "I think that even after all these years, people aren't ready for Digimon." Then he thought of something else. "Hey! That means it'll be even EASIER to pass off the Digimon as stuffed animals! If they ask, I'll just tell them this is a stuffed Wormmon I got for my birthday."

"I think I make a good stuffed animal," Wormmon smiled. "And so does Patamon. I'm not so sure about Veemon."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Veemon asked indignantly. "I can be stuffed if I wanted to!"

Impeccably, someone started to knock on the front door. Wormmon crawled into a small corner by the living room television and went into his stuffed animal act while Patamon flew onto TK's room completely, the best hiding place he could've thought of in that particular moment. Veemon leaned on one of the couches and once he was in position, he began to do his own stuffed animal impression.. Once the Digimon were cleared and ready for hiding, TK opened the door.

Standing there was a middle-aged woman with a black blouse and long skirt. She had long, flowing red hair and a pair of sunglasses, which she removed slowly to reveal a pair of hazel eyes. She took a step in the apartment and walked completely in the apartment.

"I like what you three have done with your apartment so far," she said. "I must say, it's **very** tidy. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm the hall's Resident Director, Ms. Layla Mackenzie."

"Oh... my name's TK. This is Ken. And that's Davis."

Ms. Mackenzie walked over towards Veemon and bent down to stare him in the eye. "This is a very nice stuffed animal you have here. Blue and white with a little horn on the nose. It certainly looks very real."

"Um... yeah... I got it from a Flea Market!" Davis said with a huge grin.

After giving Veemon a staredown, in which the little blue Digimon didn't even flinch, Ms. Mackenzie got to her feet and headed towards the door.

"I just wanted to come by and introduce myself... and introduce you to your Resident Advisors, both of whom are seniors. RA's?"

Ms. Mackenzie cued the RA's... and the guys got a surprise when they saw... Tai Kamiya and Matt Ishida. The guys were taken aback by this unexpected surprise. And Tai and Matt responded with no words. They just gave a simple wave... and a wry grin.

"I trust you won't have a problem getting along?" Ms. Mackenzie smiled.

"Not at all," TK agreed.

Ms. Mackenzie nodded. "That's good to hear. Come along, RA's. It's time to meet the rest of the boys."

Ms. Mackenzie walked off with Tai and Matt in tow and once they were gone, TK shut the door again. Wormmon and Veemon were able to cease their act and go back to moving freely while Patamon (who was peeking from TK's doorway) came back into the room. Veemon shut his eyes and shook his head.

"She's weird," Veemon said. "She just got into a staring contest with me."

"At least you didn't blink," Davis pointed out. "Hey, Ken! What time is it?"

"It's... almost 7:00 PM."

"I think I know what you're about to say," TK cut in. "And I agree... I'm hungry, too." He reached over for the phone, which was placed on the wall. "Should we call a few friends?"

Davis nodded. He knew TK was about to call Yolei and Kari, so he was all for it. So he took a seat right next to Veemon while TK grabbed the phone and dialed that number.

* * *

Yolei Inoue walked into her own apartment, located in another part of Odaiba University. It was the sophomore's dorm building and after helping Kari move in, Yolei realized she had her own issues. There were quite a few boxes scattered around that still needed to be unpacked. But one thing she noticed was... not all of them were hers.

She walked over to one of through the living room and to the kitchen. Once there she opened the fridge and saw that it had went from being empty to half-full in under a couple of hours. This had meant that someone had DEFINITELY been in here, but who she had no clue. At that moment, a young, blond-haired girl walked out of the laundry room with a bottle of bleach in her hand. She was wearing a very lady-like red dress with a pair of dark pantyhose, which was quite the contrast from the casualness of what Yolei was wearing. The girl gave Yolei a quick glance and nearly jumped out of her skin once she saw her.

"You scared me!" the girl exclaimed in a French accent. "I didn't hear anyone open the door."

Yolei couldn't help but notice the girl and her elegance. The dress, the hair band, the earrings, the long blond hair, and the seemingly flawless face; it was different from what Yolei was used to seeing.

"You... live here?" Yolei asked.

The girl nodded. "Yes I do. Are you one of my roommates?"

Yolei extended the hand of friendship. "Yeah, I'm your new roomy. My name's Yolei."

The girl returned the handshake. "My name's Catherine Dubois. I'm... new here. I transferred from France."

"Oh... so you're the French girl I'm rooming with. Well, it's really nice to meet you. Did the other girl show up yet?"

Catherine nodded as she put the bottle of bleach on a nearby kitchen counter. "No, you're the first person I've seen since arriving here."

Yolei shrugged as she began walking towards the common room in the center of the apartment. "Well, let me be the first to tell you that you'll really like it here. I know it must be hard to live in another country. Have you ever been in Japan before?"

Catherine followed behind Yolei as the girl sat down on the large couch. The French girl followed suit. "To be honest, I haven't."

"You'll like it here. And you'll certainly like the boys that are living here, too."

"Oh... well... I've met my share of Japanese boys before. I actually met two of them about seven years ago."

"And they're really nice, aren't they?" Yolei grinned. "Cute, too... right?"

Catherine nodded. "_Very_ nice and _very_ cute. I wish I could see them again. I wonder if they live in this part of Japan..."

Before Yolei could get to know her new roommate better, she heard the phone ring. She didn't recall giving anyone the number... except her friends. So that meant it was probably Kari. Yolei walked over to answer the phone.

"Hello?"

_"Yolei? It's TK."_

"Oh, hi! How's everything on the guys' floor going so far?"

_"Oh... um... well... Davis hasn't burned any bridges... yet. He came close when he kept bumping into some guy and smashing a door in his nose. It's a good thing that guy hasn't snapped... yet."_

"Well, that's Davis. I just hope he doesn't get you or Ken into any trouble... for his sake, because if that klutz gets my Kenny into any trouble, I'll..."

_"We'll be ok, Yolei. So what are you doing right now?"_

"Just trying to unpack and get to know my new roommate a little better."

_"We were wondering if you wanted to get something to eat with us right now. What do you say?"_

"I haven't had a bite to eat all day. I'm there!"

_"Ok... then we'll meet you at The Den. You can tell us what's safe to eat. Bye, Yolei!"_

Yolei hung up and was about to get her purse to leave... when she thought of another idea. She looked over at Catherine, who had gone back into the kitchen was arranging the food that she bought from earlier.

"Hey, Catherine... would you like to meet some of my friends?"

Catherine beamed. "I'd love to! But... I can't quite make it just yet. I'll tell you what, though. I'll meet you in the cafeteria in about half an hour, ok?"

Yolei started heading out the door. "Ok, Catherine. This will give us all time to get together. Good luck doing... whatever it is you have to do and I'll go ahead and see you in a little bit."

Yolei walked the door and started heading to the cafeteria. After the way this day has gone, she could use a meal.

* * *

Kari was really starting to like the way things were going right now. She had spent the last hour getting know her newest roommates and friends, Jeri Katou and Zoë Orimoto, and finding out what makes them tick. Likewise, Kari was telling them everything about herself... ALMOST everything.

"So what do you take pictures of, Kari?" Zoë asked.

Kari looked around the room with her digital camera. "Whatever I can find. Smile, Rika!"

Rika was sitting on the living room floor, shifting through some excess papers and letters when she turned and sweatdropped upon seeing Kari's camera focused on her. Needless to say, Rika wasn't amused.

"Don't point that thing at me!" she snapped.

"Camera shy?" Kari grinned.

"You better believe it!" Rika growled. "Seeing camera flashes remind me of my mother... and what she wanted me to be."

Kari blinked. "What'd she-"

"I DON'T want to talk about it!" Rika scowled.

Kari shrugged and pointed the camera away. She continued to get a totally negative vibe from Rika and every one of her attempts to be friendly seemed to only make relations worse. It was as if Rika just... hated her. Kari turned back to Zoë and Jeri, who were having their own conversation with each other. Zoë's friend, JP, had left about thirty minutes ago to go do his own business around the school. And after awhile, the four roommates had just found themselves in the living room lounging... like roommates do.

"Jeri, Zoë! Say cheese!" Kari grinned.

The two other girls looked at Kari holding her camera, and made a quick pose together. "CHEESE!"

Kari snapped the picture and loved how the result turned out. The picture looked perfect. "Let me see it," Jeri said as she took the camera from Kari. A small groan came from Rika, probably out of aggravation. Zoë looked over at the girl, whose head was down at the moment, and frowned.

Kari may have been hated by Rika, but Rika was NOT making any kind of good impression on Zoë, who didn't like the attitude that the other girl was displaying towards others. The tension between them was building and Kari had a funny feeling that it would only get worse as the year went on.

"Ugh... I think I'm going to do this in my room," Rika said as she gathered all the papers on the floor and made for her room down the hallway. Before she left, though, the phone on the wall had started to ring. Rika groaned as she put her papers in one arm and answered the phone with the free one. "Hello?"

Zoë shifted on the couch and turned to Jeri. "Has she always been so... antisocial?"

Jeri was fiddling with the TV remote, trying to find something on TV when Zoë had answered the question. "Rika isn't antisocial! She just has to warm up to you first. She treated me the same way when we met," Jeri reassured everyone when Rika interrupted. She walked over to Kari and handed her the phone. "It's for you," she simply said before retreating to her room and shutting the door behind her.

"Well, she better come up with a better attitude before I warm HER up," Zoë said, but she had a smile on her face all the same. "Oh, just give her time," Jeri said.

Kari spoke into the phone that Rika had given her. "Hello?"

_"Hi, Kari!"_

Kari giggled. "Well, hello to you too, Davis. Did you guys have any problems moving in?"

_"No problems moving in... except for you-know-who wanting to sneak in with us."_

"I told you there's nothing wrong with taking... you-know-who with you. Just... make sure no one sees him and you'll all be fine."

_"He's done a pretty good job so far. But hiding our Digimon made us all hungry, so we were wondering if you wanted to get something to eat."_

"I'd love to!"

_"Great! We'll meet you at The Den! I'll see you there, Kari!"_

"Bye, Davis!"

_"Blow me a kiss?"_

Kari sweatdropped. "Later."

Kari hung up and sighed. Davis was really on top of the world since Kari agreed to go out on a date with him. But maybe he was making too much of this. After all... she wasn't his girlfriend... yet.

"Who was that, Kari?" Jeri asked.

"A few of my old friends," Kari answered cheerfully. "We're all having dinner together. I'll be back a little later."

The three girls jumped when the Zoë's bedroom door knocked from the inside, as if something inside her room had fallen and knocked the door. Kari didn't think anything of it, but Zoë had sweatdropped and seemed to be VERY concerned about whatever it was. "Um... I'll be right back," she said before making a mad dash to her room, almost bumping into Rika, who had come out of her room at that moment. Luckily Zoë was too preoccupied with what had fallen in her room to give Rika any kind of look.

Rika came in the living room and shot Kari a cold stare before grabbing her wallet from the coffee table. "I'm going for a walk. Be back later," Rika said before walking out the apartment, leaving only Jeri and Kari in the living room.

Kari didn't want to leave Jeri here all by herself, so she thought of the next best thing. "Uh... Jeri, do you want to come with me to get something to eat?"

Jeri's faced suddenly beamed. "Sure!"

But, then, her face suddenly sank as she got up from the couch. "Oh, wait, I have to go give something to my friend. How about I meet you there?"

"Sounds good to me!"

Jeri went back to her own room, which was located across the hall from Kari's room, and Kari was decided she should at least wait for Jeri to leave the apartment. She also thought it was a good idea to let Zoë know they were leaving. She walked over to Zoë's door and was about to knock when the door flew open, nearly hitting Kari.

"CUT IT OUT!" Zoë yelled out, but stopping in her tracks after seeing a very confused Kari. "Kari!"

Zoë had a large box that seemed to be moving and it seemed that Zoë was having a tough time getting a good grip on it.

"Kari! Oh my goodness, I didn't know you were there!"

"It's okay... uh... are you okay?"

Zoë smiled happily before brushing past Kari. But, that box she was carrying had made a giggle and huff came from Zoë's box as she hurried to the front door of the apartment. She turned to face Kari while opening the door and laughed loudly. "I'm fine! I have to go deliver this to someone right now so I'll be back later! See ya!"

She rushed out and slammed the front door with such force that Kari sworn that the TV had moved just an inch. The whole exchange could only have been described in one word... Weird.

Jeri than came out of her own room, lugging that big, red lizard from earlier around. Kari turned her attention to Jeri, who seemed to be struggling with the weight of the lizard... which Kari found odd, considering it was only a STUFFED ANIMAL.

"Um... do you need any help with that?" Kari offered.

"No... it's ok," Jeri smiled. "I can do it. Now go on, I wouldn't want you to be late."

Kari wasn't positive whether she should leave or not, but Jeri was practically shooing her away. So Kari just grabbed her purse and walked out. Despite her roommates' funny behavior, Kari realized that the apartment would be empty now and maybe that was a good thing.

Maybe it would give Gatomon a chance to breathe.

* * *

Gatomon walked around idly Kari's room, taking in everything that her partner had set up so far. With Kari having her own personal room, she was free to roam as she pleased, and that was better for everyone. But, when she heard the girls leave the apartment she instantly wanted to see the rest of her new home. After all, she was a cat and like everyone says... cats are the most curious creatures to come into existence.

Gatomon's curiosity got the best of her and she decided to go outside of her safe, little haven. She opened the door that led to the living room, but before doing so, she did a quick little peek to check and see if the coast was REALLY clear for her to roam freely. After seeing that no one else was in the apartment, Gatomon walked further and found herself in the newly decorated living area, which the girls had done up nicely.

But before Gatomon could walk any further, she saw something materialize out of thin air right by the window. It was a tall yellow fox, standing on her hind legs. And for Gatomon... this fox looked _very_ familiar.

"I guess I'm by myself now," the fox said to herself.

But before anymore words could be said, Gatomon and the fox turned their heads to find each other. They both gasped and took a step back. But their expressions of shock soon turned to expressions of contempt.

"**YOU**!!" they both shouted.

Gatomon jumped off the floor and straight on one of the couches in the living room and faced off with this old antagonist of hers. Both of them slowly stepped in circles, neither one taking their eyes off the other.

"So... we meet again, you little furball," the fox sneered.

"I didn't think I'd ever have to see you again, Renamon," Gatomon scowled. "Why are you here?"

"I don't have to answer to you!" Renamon spat. Then she raised an eyebrow. "Hey, wait a minute! What are _you_ doing here anyway?! You don't belong here! The last time I saw you, you were out prancing around the Digital World trying to make **friends**."

"For your information, I do have friends!" Gatomon replied angrily. "Unlike you! The only thing you ever cared about was fighting and getting stronger! You don't know the meaning of the word friendship, Foxy!"

A vein nearly popped out of Renamon's head. "You... you... I told you... **NEVER**,** EVER** call me **FOXY**! And you didn't answer my question, kitty! _What are you doing here_?!"

"I don't have to tell you anything!" Gatomon shouted. "But the only thing I WILL tell you is that you're not staying!"

"That's what you think!" Renamon shot back. "This place ain't big enough for the both of us, cat! So you're leaving!"

"Oh yeah?! We'll see about that!"

With those heated words exchanged, Gatomon dove straight for Renamon and tackled her. Both Digimon started rolling around, trying to claw and swipe at one another. But the only moves that landed were a couple of slaps. After some more rolling around, the two Digimon bumped into the wall, knocking down some of the girls' picture frames. Before they could break anything else, Gatomon pushed Renamon off. The fox Digimon rolled back and skillfully bounced onto her feet.

"I can't believe it," Renamon muttered. "A strong Digimon like me reduced to _catfighting_."

"What's wrong with catfighting?!" Gatomon demanded, obviously miffed at the pun.

"I don't know why I'm wasting my time playing games with you. I honestly shouldn't be surprised that you haven't gotten any stronger since the last time I saw you. You're still weak!"

That got Gatomon's dander up. "I'LL... SHOW... YOU!!"

Gatomon got a huge running start and she hit Renamon with a shoulder-first tackle. Unfortunately, Gatomon had too much forward momentum and couldn't put the brakes on and both Digimon headed right for the window. Unable to stop, both went falling out the second-floor window... and falling to the ground outside.

* * *

Takato felt satisfied with the job he and Henry had done cleaning their new apartment. It looked nice and tidy... for the moment. But considering this was a boys' apartment, it likely wouldn't last.

"Well... I'll enjoy the space... for however long it lasts," Terriermon joked.

Suddenly... from outside ...

"**AAAAAAAHHH** ... **OOF**!"

Takato blinked. "Did you guys hear that?"

"Hear what?" Henry asked.

"It sounded like someone was falling outside."

Terriermon pattered over to the window and opened up the curtain. "There's nothing out here."

"Um... Terriermon... is it really a good idea for you to be looking out the window like that?" Henry pointed out. "What if someone sees you?"

"Sheesh! Momentai, Henry!" Terriermon groaned. "You worry too much sometimes."

"Well... he's got a point, Terriermon," Takato thought. "There could have been some guys out there trying to pull a prank on us. We wouldn't want them to see you."

Terriermon sweatdropped. "Some guys... coming to pull pranks on your window? You guys just got here! You've barely made any FRIENDS, much less enemies."

With that out of the way, Takato heard some knocking at the door. The goggle boy wandered over to answer the door... and saw emptiness. There was nobody there.

"Hmm... I could have sworn..."

"HELLO!"

"AAH!"

Takato fell back when Kazu Shiota and Kenta Kitagawa suddenly jumped onto the doorway in front of him. Takato fell on his backside and looked up to see his two friends with their hands full. Kazu was carrying both boxes of Digimon cards... and Kenta was carrying around MarineAngemon.

"Don't... scare me like that," Takato grumbled.

"Sorry 'bout that, Takato," Kazu grinned. "But we just wanted to make an entrance."

"So when did you two get here?" Henry asked.

"About twenty minutes ago," Kenta answered. "We unpacked our stuff before the RD introduced us to the RA's. Their names were... Ty and May... or something like that."

Takato walked up and observed MarineAngemon. "Well... I see you have MarineAngemon here. But Kazu... where's... you know...?"

Kazu just raised an eyebrow. "You think I can fit Guardromon into the car with my entire luggage? You're out of your mind. So I did the only thing I could do. I left him in my room for right now. We're going to wait a few days before we try and sneak him in. Now THAT should be a lot of fun."

"I wish Guilmon was that understanding," Takato sighed. "But he doesn't understand that he can't stay here with me. He was really sad to see me go."

"You didn't bring Guilmon?" Kazu asked in disbelief. "Come on, Takato. We KNOW Guardromon can't stay here because... well... we aren't ready for that yet! I have to wait and see how I'm going to get him in here. But, Guilmon? He is NOT that big. And I think he can blend in."

"He can blend in about as easily as Terriermon or MarineAngemon," Kenta added.

"Ok, let's analyze what you just said," Terriermon cut in. "First of all, I've been doing the whole stuffed animal routine since the day I met Henry. So I'm a little used to it by now. And MarineAngemon... well... it's easy for him to not get noticed since he _doesn't talk_!"

MarineAngemon raised an eyebrow and just turned his head from Terriermon in the universal 'humph' motion.

"Look, don't get me wrong," Terriermon continued. He started wandering towards the window. "I like Guilmon and I'll miss the big lug. But I don't think he can pull off the whole stuffed animal charade as easily as I can. And where's he gonna hide, anyway? He's a big, red lizard! The only chance he HAS is the stuffed animal act. I mean... how do you NOT notice him? Not only is he big, but he's got the kind of face that just... leaps out at you."

"HELLO!"

"AAH!"

When Terriermon got to the window, a surprise leaped up out of nowhere, sending the long-eared Digimon rolling off the bed. Takato gasped when he saw...

"Guilmon?!"

Terriermon shook off the cobwebs and jumped back on the couch, running towards the window. "You big, red goofball! Don't ever scare me like that again!"

"Sorry, Terriermon."

Takato ran towards the window. "Guilmon! Get in here before someone sees you!"

Takato grabbed Guilmon's hands and tried to pull him in. Unfortunately, Guilmon was pretty heavy, so it was definitely easier said than done. Takato struggled to pull him in while Guilmon struggled to climb into the window. Takato finally decided to give one hard tug. And when he did, Guilmon went flying in... and winded up colliding with Kazu, squashing him against the wall.

Guilmon calmly got to his feet. "Hi, Kazu!"

"Hey... Guilmon..." Kazu said groggily.

Guilmon looked around the room. "Ooh... so this is college. It's just like I heard..."

Guilmon's thoughts were interrupted when he saw an infuriated Takato walking up to him. Guilmon flinched sheepishly.

"I thought I told you to stay home!" Takato said angrily. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to live with you, Takato," Guilmon answered calmly.

"But I told you!" Takato shot back. "You can't stay here! Someone will see you!"

"Jeri said that if you had a problem, to tell her about it."

Takato's eyes widened. "**_Jeri _**brought you here?! This was **_Jeri_**'**_s_** idea?!"

"Did somebody call me?" a feminine voice called out from the window. It was Jeri.

Takato had a huge crush on Jeri for the longest time. They had become even closer friends over the last year once she moved back to West Shinjuku. But right now, Takato wasn't looking at Jeri amorously. Right now, he was ticked off.

"Jeri! You brought Guilmon here?!" Takato demanded.

Henry suddenly saw where this was going and picked up Terriermon. "Well... I'm sure you two have a lot to talk about. Kazu, Kenta... uh... you guys want to see what I did with my room?"

"Um... sure..." Kazu said slowly.

"I guess so..." Kenta added.

Henry practically pushed Kazu and Kenta down the hallway and to his room. Once he got there he shut the door, leaving Takato alone with Guilmon and Jeri.

"What's the idea, Jeri?" Takato asked angrily. "I-"

"I ought to be asking YOU that same question, Takato Matsuki!" Jeri interrupted. "How could you even THINK about leaving poor Guilmon behind? He loves you, Takato! And you can't just leave him home just because you think he's excess baggage! How insensitive can you be?! What's the matter with you?!"

"But..."

"You aren't even giving Guilmon a fair chance!" Jeri continued. "You're just assuming he'll be caught! You're not giving him ANY credit at all! Have you even bothered to FIND OUT if he can act like a stuffed animal?!"

"Well..."

"You haven't, have you?! Well, let me tell you something, Takato! I gave him a chance, and I think he's ready to go! Guilmon, show Takato you can be a stuffed animal."

Guilmon sat down and froze with a dopey smile on his face. Jeri waved a hand in front of his face and didn't get a reaction. Then she tried making faces, still not getting anything out of Guilmon. Then she pulled out her sock puppet and tried to bite Guilmon's nose with it. To Guilmon's credit, he didn't even flinch.

Jeri giggled. "Ok, Guilmon. We made our point."

Guilmon unfroze and rubbed his nose. "OW... your puppet bites hard, Jeri."

Jeri walked over and got in Takato's face. "You see?! Guilmon deserves a chance to live here, Takato! And he doesn't deserve to be left home! He loves you! And you love him, too! So what's the problem?!"

Takato thought long and hard about that one. "Well ... ... you know... now that I think about it... I guess there really isn't a problem."

Jeri smiled. "That's great to hear!"

Guilmon threw his hands up. "YAY!!"

"BUT..." Takato continued. "You have to be careful, Guilmon! Whenever ANYONE comes in here, you have to keep up your stuffed animal act. And most importantly, you CAN'T leave the apartment!"

"I won't go anywhere, Takato," Guilmon nodded. "So does this mean I can stay?"

Takato sighed. "Sure thing, boy. I couldn't take being away from you for so long anyway. ...HEY!"

Guilmon dove onto Takato, knocking him over. "YAY!!"

Jeri, with a new sense of satisfaction, headed for the door. "I see my work is done. I'll just be leaving now. Bye, Takato!"

Something suddenly hit Takato like a ton of bricks. "Hey, Jeri?"

Jeri stopped as she reached the door. "Yes, Takato?"

"Um... you wanna go get something to eat?"

Jeri blinked. "Alone? Without Henry, Kazu, Kenta, or Rika?"

"Well... Henry and them are probably doing... whatever... and I don't know WHERE Rika is... so... yeah... just the two of us, you know?"

"Well... ok... but don't you mistake this for a date, Takato."

Takato sweatdropped. "Oh no... of course not." He looked back at Guilmon, who went into his stuffed animal act. Then Takato got a better idea. "You know what... come here Guilmon."

Takato walked down the hall and opened the door to his bedroom. "This is a better hiding place for you, anyways."

Guilmon walked in the room and looked around, sniffing the air. "Ooh... smells like bread!"

Takato smiled and closed his door, knowing that his Digimon would be safe there. Jeri suddenly realized something. "You know something, Takato? I just forgot there's something I needed to do. It won't take me too long, but I'll meet you in the cafeteria in about thirty minutes, okay?"

"Uh... sure, Jeri."

Jeri gave Takato a quick hug and ran off, leaving Takato alone to get ready for dinner. He grabbed a coat and opened the door and walked out, ready to go out for dinner... at the university's cafeteria.

* * *

Takuya had put the finishing touches on his new room, which in his opinion looked VERY clean and tidy. But, unfortunately Takuya knew that this wasn't going to last very long. The only thing left to do now was to get rid of all the empty boxes.

He picked one of the boxes up and put it out in the hallway with a bunch of other trash. He walked out into the living room, where Koji and Koichi were. Koichi was in the kitchen putting all the food they had bought earlier in the fridge, while Koji was hooking up the Nintendo Wii to the living room TV. The boys had put up a couple of pictures from their younger days and whatnot, giving their apartment a quainter feel.

"Well, guys. I gotta say I like what we done with the place," Takuya said as he looked around his new home. Koji grunted from behind the television at Takuya's words. "You didn't do anything but fix your room up. WE'RE the ones who went grocery shopping!" Koji complained to his friend. Takuya frowned at the words, but didn't reply back because he didn't want to get anything started. So instead he walked over to kitchen where Koichi was.

"Need any help?" Takuya asked to Koichi, whose back was turned to him and his body fully in the fridge.

Koichi turned around to face the goggle boy, an arm full of frozen dinners. "No, I'm okay. Why don't you relax for awhile? I can handle this," Koichi said kindly.

Takuya smiled at his friend and thought about that for a second. "Gee, thanks Koichi! I tell ya, sometimes it's hard for me to believe that you and Koji come from the same genes."

Koji looked over at Takuya and gave him a death glare, while Takuya just looked at him and grinned. Takuya was about to head into his room for a quick nap when a knock came from the front door. Takuya stopped what he was doing and walked over to it, but immediately wished he hadn't when he saw who was behind it.

It was Zoë, Takuya's ex-girlfriend and OCCASIONAL friend.

Takuya was completely speechless as he stared at Zoë, who held a seemingly heavy box under her arm. "Zoë! What... are you doing here?"

Zoë didn't say any kind of greeting; she merely walked in the boys' apartment and slammed the box into Takuya's arms. She looked around the living room and whistled in amazement. "Wow, guys. I really like what you've done with the place."

Takuya stood motionless at the doorway. That is until the box he was holding began laughing and moving in his hands wildly. He yelped in surprise and dropped it.

"OW!!"

He heard more than one voice, and once he realized who it was, he quickly shut the door. It was the four Harmonious Digimon in their rookie forms, and as usual they were as hyperactive as little human children on a sugar high.

"Zoë! What did you bring these guys here for?!" Takuya yelled loudly, a vein nearly popping out of his forehead.

The rookie form of Azulongmon, **Azumon**, flew out of the box and up to the ceiling. "Hiya, Takuya! Long time no see!" Takuya jumped up to try and catch the small Digimon, but to no avail. Koji stopped working the Wii with a dumbfound expression on his face. Koichi came from the kitchen, his hands still full of frozen foods. "What's going on?" he asked, but was ambushed by two other small Digimon: the rookie form of Ebnowumon, **Turtwigmon**; and the rookie form of Baihumon, **Tigrismon**. The small Digimon leaped on Koichi, knocking the Warrior of Darkness flat on his butt.

"YAY! FOOD!"

Turtwigmon and Tigrismon tore open the frozen food and tried their best to munch on it, but once they realized that it couldn't be eaten, their faces became crestfallen and sad. "This food tastes yucky!" Tigrismon said as he spat a frozen chicken nugget from his mouth.

"Zoë, what's the deal?" Koji said as he walked up to Zoë, who was now sitting down watching television as if the young Digimon Sovereigns weren't causing havoc and chaos around the apartment. The only one that seemed remotely calm was the rookie form of Zhuqiaomon, **Zenithmon**, who was sitting calmly next to Zoë on the couch. "Koji, what are you talking about?" she said as she flipped the channel.

"Why did you bring these guys with you?"

Takuya was busy trying to hold down the small dragon Digimon, Azumon, who was flying around the room while Koichi was hording the food away from the other two Digimon.  
"You guys have more space in here than I do. Besides, I don't want my roommates peeping around my room and they end up finding these guys," Zoë explained as she continued to watch TV, even with all the destruction the Digimon were causing.

"That wasn't what I asked you. Why did you bring them here in the first place?"

"I didn't want to just leave them in Shibuya for Tommy to look after!"

"It's better than US looking after them HERE!"

A large crash made the two bickering friends look over to Koichi, who had just dropped a bowl on the floor due to Tigrismon's antics. And Turtwigmon had found his way to refrigerator and was now raiding the contents. "That's it!" Takuya said as he stopped in his tracks from chasing Azumon. He walked over to where Zoë and Koji were standing. He got in Zoë's face, an angry expression on his face. "Have you lost your mind? You know we can't keep these guys here! There too much of a handful!"

Zoë didn't back away from Takuya, despite all his yelling and raving. Instead, she got up right back in his face. "Well, you better call Tommy and ask HIM to keep them, then because they are not staying in my room!" Zoë saw from the corner of her eye and saw that Zenithmon had gotten a sad look on his face at these words, and she immediately changed her words. "Look, guys, I can't keep them now. Not with three roommates I don't know anything about. It's too risky."

Takuya huffed, his anger rising by the second. "Oh, so if they stay with us, it's less risky?"

Zoë was silent for a second, and then she crossed her arms in aggravation. "I didn't say that Takuya. But, since all three of you know about these guys then I thought it would be easier for the transition."

"Well, the answer is 'no' Zoë, we're not doing it," Takuya said, feeling as if that was the end of the discussion. But, it wasn't.

Zoë gave Takuya a look of disbelief and then her face became tomato red. "Well, you're in for a long night because I'm not hauling them back to my room! GOOD LUCK!"

Zoë grabbed her purse and bumped Takuya purposely as she walked past him. She walked past Koichi, who was still struggling with Tigrismon. She opened the door, gave the boys one more angry look and slammed the door, leaving the three boys and four Digimon dumbfounded.

"Hey, where'd Zoë go?" Turtwigmon asked, with a bag of red grapes hanging from his mouth.

"Nice going, Takuya," Koji said in mock congratulations, watching Takuya continue to stare after the angered Warrior of Wind.

"It seemed to work when it was forming in my head," the goggle boy said sheepishly. Koji sighed as he retreated back to his own room, leaving his brother and friend alone to attend to the young Harmonious Digimon.

* * *

While night was starting to fall in the Real World, she was now in the Digital World. The time was coming for an invasion and she had to be ready for it. Although there were plenty of nasty Digimon willing to offer their services for an invasion of the Real World, that didn't mean she didn't still have a job to do.

At her disposal were several Black Gears. They were the very same Black Gears that were once used by Devimon and thanks to one of her partners-in-crime, the Black Gear technology had been restored. And now they would use it to their advantage.

She looked down at the ground just below the cliff to see a Tortomon walking peacefully. He would prove to be a suitable servant. So she grabbed a Black Gear and tossed it down. The Black Gear attached itself to the Tortomon's back and began to take effect immediately. The Tortomon groaned and then its eyes glowed red. The big Digimon was under the Black Gear's influence. A grin widened on her face. Her partners would be pleased. She sure was.

The Tortomon woke up and looked up to see her standing at the cliff's edge. It awaited orders, for the Black Gear now had it rendered under her control. She pointed out towards the distance, where the Tortomon would wander until it was given further instructions.

In a short amount of time, her night's work was finished. Of course, the total work of the _Digimon Empress _was far from over. But for right now, it was time to return to the Real World.

After all... it was a school night.


	4. Hunger

Davis looked over his shoulder to see that TK and Ken were sitting at a pretty big table that was enough to seat everyone who was about to show up, with room to spare. Davis, of course, had yet to get his dinner. And he had plenty to choose from in this cafeteria known as The Den. But experience was setting in at this point. Davis would never forget the cafeterias he had encountered in his lifetime and the food tasted HORRENDOUS. So Davis was sure to be careful. He wanted to eat dinner… not lose his lunch. Before Davis could make his choice, however, a pair of hands covered his eyes.

"Guess who?"

Davis thought about that. "Um… Ken? Your voice has changed."

Davis turned around and saw Kari holding a tray of food. And she didn't look amused.

"Very funny, Davis," she said dryly. "Are you ready to eat?"

Davis poured himself a bowl of soup to go with his salad. "Oh yeah! We're sitting over here. Let's go."

Davis escorted Kari towards the table, which was located by the door. He had to admit, whatever scent Kari was wearing was driving him wild. He wanted to reach over and give her a quick peck on the cheek. But Davis mistimed his steps and ended up clumsily tripping over a spilled meatball.

The tray flew forward, as did the salad and soup that was on top of it. And unfortunately, The Den's door just happened to open at that moment. And the salad and soup ended up falling on top of some poor hapless soul's head. And that hapless soul just happened to be…

"HEY!"

… Takato.

Davis timidly inched towards Takato and pulled a lettuce leaf out from over his forehead. "Um… hey, Takato! S-Sorry about that." He grinned sheepishly. "But… look at it this way. This makes a good appetizer at least."

Takato audibly snarled as he cleared some salad from atop his head. He looked like he was ready to explode, but the girl that was with him was desperately trying to calm him down.

"Takato… it was just an accident. He didn't mean anything by it."

Kari walked up to Davis's side. "Hi, Jeri!"

The girl turned around and smiled. "Oh, hi Kari!"

Kari made the introduction. "Davis, I want you to meet my roommate, Jeri."

Jeri made her own introduction. "Takato, I want you to meet my roommate, Kari."

Then both girls wanted to introduce their guys. "And we want you to meet—"

"We met!" Takato cut them off sharply.

"C-Chill out, dude!" Davis stammered. "It was an accident."

"You seem to have a lot of those, don't you?" Takato growled.

Silence.

Jeri sweatdropped and started to lead Takato away. "Uh… come on, Takato. Let's go eat. I'll see you later, Kari. Nice meeting you, Davis."

Davis waved dimwittedly. "Nice meeting you, too, Jeri."

Davis was ready to go sit at the table now. But he froze when he saw Takato shooting him one last cold glare. Davis stood still until Kari started leading him towards the table.

"I see you two haven't quite gotten off on the right foot," Kari noted.

"That'd be an understatement," Davis said grimly. "But Takato just hasn't seen the most charming side of me yet."

Kari sweatdropped. "I shudder to think what would happen if he truly saw the most charming side of you. Look… maybe it isn't so bad. I mean… it can't be any worse than how I've had it with my one of other roommates."

Davis blinked. "Oh, you've been spilling food on people, too?"

"Not exactly," Kari sighed. "I'll tell you just as soon as we sit down."

Kari led Davis over to the table and sat down with their friends. Yolei hadn't arrived just yet and TK and Ken looked concerned. Obviously, they saw what went down.

"Davis… don't tell me that was Takato," Ken groaned.

"Ok, I won't tell you."

TK shook his head. "I don't think you're endearing yourself to him."

That got Kari's curiosity up. "Just how many times HAVE you bumped into him?"

Davis hesitated. "Um … uh … hey Ken, is that a meatball?"

TK shook his head again. "I hope getting along has been easier for you, Kari."

Kari also hesitated. "Oh… yeah… you know me. It's impossible for me to not make easy friends. Heh… heh…"

"Has anyone seen Yolei?" Ken asked.

That was enough to change the subject and get everyone looking around the cafeteria for Yolei, who had yet to show up. But it didn't take long.

"Hi guys!" Yolei said cheerfully. She came and was about to sit next to Ken, but stayed on her feet.

"What's wrong?" Ken asked curiously.

Yolei waved over to someone. "Come on! Don't be shy!"

Davis turned his head to see a very attractive young girl with blond locks and a red dress. If he wasn't so smitten with Kari, then he would have been tempted. But no one was more taken by her appearance then TK.

Yolei smiled. "Guys, I want you to meet my roommate—"

"Catherine?" TK finished.

Yolei blinked. "How… did you know that?"

Catherine gasped. "TK? Is that you?"

TK nodded. "I can't believe it! What are you doing here?"

"I'm an exchange student! I'm coming here for the year!"

"Really? That's great! Wow! You really grew up!"

"So did you!"

"Time out!" Kari said almost impatiently. "Does someone want to fill the rest of us in as to what's going on?"

TK smiled. "Ok, Kari. But you might want to take a seat. This might take a while…"

* * *

  
Impmon never felt so alone. He still had the baseball in his hands and he bounced it along the sewer pipe. He didn't think he'd miss everyone so much, but not having Renamon or the humans around left Impmon feeling… rather lonely.

He still couldn't believe that Renamon didn't tell him everyone was leaving until the very last second. He thought they were his friends. Of course, after everything he had done in his past, Impmon couldn't blame any of them for running out on him. He didn't deserve to have friends like them.

Impmon tossed the ball off the pipe, but on the way back, the ball flew over his shoulder. He went over to retrieve it, but when he found it, it was in the hands of a friend.

"Hi! Wanna play?"

It was little Calumon. The baseball was almost the size of his head. Of course, the smile on his face was pretty big along with his ears. Calumon loved coming around to play. What surprised Impmon was that he thought the little childlike Digimon had left with Rika or Jeri.

"I ain't in the mood," Impmon said casually. He sat down and put his head in his hands. "I'm pretty down in the dumps right now."

Calumon bounced over and sat next to Impmon. "What's the matter?"

Impmon decided to get a question out of the way. "Did Renamon or Terriermon or any of those guys tell you they were going away?"

Calumon's smile faded and his ears shrunk. "Uh huh. I said I was gonna miss them. Are they gone already?"

"Yeah, probably. Renamon didn't tell me until a little while ago."

Calumon's face fell. "What are we gonna do without them?"

Impmon didn't know how to answer that. But then a thought hit him. He decided to shrug off his self-pity and do something about this. He got to his feet and, for the first time in years, started walking out of the sewer pipe. Calumon quickly caught up to him.

"Where are you going, Impmon?" Calumon asked curiously.

"Going for a trip," Impmon answered. "You coming?"

Calumon's face lit up. "You mean it? I can really come with you?"

"Just don't get too cute on me," Impmon said. "But yeah, let's get out of this dump. Never liked it here anyway."  


"But where are we going?"

Impmon grinned mischievously. "To a new life."

* * *

Henry sat down on his bed and looked over Kazu and Kenta's Digimon Cards. "You guys have new cards? And you didn't even bother to tell me or Takato."

"We thought we'd surprise you," Kazu grinned. "You'd never see it coming."

"Yeah, we don't want to be the only guys still losing to you two," Kenta added.

Henry's face fell. "And just what is THAT supposed to mean?"

"Come on, Henry," Kazu sighed. "You guys were great back in the day, but when it comes to the card game… you guys have lost a step lately. Everyone back in high school was beating you guys by the time we graduated. Even the girls! Even your sister!"

"I don't want to think of it that way," Henry shot back. "I want to think of it as a case of me and Takato being good teachers."

"Sure…" Kenta mocked.

"We'll prove it to you guys," Henry replied. "Takato and I met three guys who've never heard of the Digimon Card Game…"

"Wait a second!" Kazu interrupted. "Three guys who've NEVER HEARD of the Digimon Card Game?"

"I was as surprised as you guys are. I thought it would have spread by now, but I guess it never got past Shinjuku."

"So who are these guys?" Kenta asked.

"They live down the hall," Henry answered.

"But be careful around one of them," Terriermon warned. "He's a total clod. Just ask Takato."

Henry shook his head. "Terriermon… those were just accidents…"

"Hold on a second," Kazu interrupted again. He walked over to Terriermon, who was sitting on the floor of Henry's room. "What are you saying there, Terriermon? Someone giving our buddy, Takato, a hard time?"

"You'd better believe it!" Terriermon answered. "He knocked over all of his bags and boxes twice. And he banged a door on his nose about four or five times. These can't ALL be accidents… unless he really IS a total goof!"

Henry sighed. "Terriermon…"

"So this guy's been messing with Takato, has he?" Kazu said. "Then maybe it's time we did something about it."

Henry sweatdropped. "I don't like the sound of that. We just got here. We don't need to be burning bridges on our first day."

"I was thinking the same thing, Kazu," Terriermon said, ignoring Henry. "What do you have in mind?"

Kazu scratched his chin. "I think now would be a good time to pull our first college prank, don't you, Kenta?"

"My thoughts exactly," Kenta answered.

"Now wait guys!" Henry cut them off. "I think you're making too much of this. I mean… they were just accidents."

Kazu and Kenta both glanced at each other mischievously. Henry knew that look all too well.

"Guys… promise me you won't do anything! I don't want any of us making enemies right now!"

Kenta sighed. "You just have to be a goody-two-shoes, don't you, Henry?"

"Promise…!" Henry growled, unfazed and gritting his teeth.

"Ok, ok, chill out," Kazu grudgingly agreed. "We promise not to do anything."

Henry breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay good. Then we'll all get together when Takato comes back for a card game… for old time's sake. Right?"

"Yeah, sure," Kazu said, his face hung low and a sad expression written on it. "Come on, Kenta. I'm in the mood for some Tyson meat."

"See you in a little bit Henry. Bye, Terriermon," Kenta said as he put little MarineAngemon back in his pocket and followed Kazu out of Henry's room.

Henry sighed as he took off his jacket and walked over to his personal TV and turned it on.

"Um… Henry, I forgot to give Kazu back one of his cards. I'm going to go give it to him, 'kay?" Terriermon said as he jumped on Henry's bed. Henry turned to look at his partner Digimon. After a quick glance he turned back to the television and shrugged.

"Ok, but don't stay too long. We wouldn't want anyone to see you."

Henry continued to watch the Evening News as he heard Terriermon open the door and leave his room, headed for Kazu and Kenta's apartment.

* * *

  
Terriermon opened the front door of Henry's apartment and peeked in the main hallway to see if anybody was around. Once the coast was clear, he moved swiftly and quickly so no one could see him. He felt like a spy doing an espionage-like mission. Once he finally made it to the apartment of Kenta and Kazu, he knocked three times on the front door and waited.

Once Kenta opened the door, he looked around the hallway, checking to see who had knocked on the door. But, Terriermon was so small; he could easily sneak through the boy's legs and waltz right in the apartment. Kenta didn't even notice.

"Hmm… that's weird…" Kenta replied before closing the door.

Once he turned around however, little Terriermon was right there with a wide grin on his face.

"WAHHH!"

Kenta screamed and fell right on the floor, his hand over his heart. "Terriermon, don't EVER do that AGAIN!"

"Jeez Louise, Kenta. Take a chill pill," Terriermon said before hopping on the living room couch. At 

that moment, Kazu came out of one of the bathrooms near the entrance of the apartment. "What's all the screaming about, Kenta?" he asked before spotting Terriermon sitting on the arm of the couch. "Terriermon? What are you doing here?"

"That was really nice of you guys to promise Henry you wouldn't do anything for Takato and all… but … he didn't say anything about ME doing a prank, did he?"

Kazu's face immediately brightened. "Cool! What do you got in mind, Terriermon?"

Terriermon scratched his head with one of his ears. "Hmm… I'm open to suggestions. I mean… I AM a little new to the world of college pranks, you know. I'm actually pretty new to the world of pranks, period."

"We've got a little something we've been saving up for an occasion like this," Kazu replied. "Right, Kenta? Hold on a sec…"

He went and ran deeper in the apartment and into his personal room. Kenta got up on his feet and followed his friend, as did Terriermon. Once the two had gotten to the room, Kazu was digging in his newly organized closet for something. Kenta began developing a large smile on his face once he realized what his buddy was about to bring out, and that reaction got Terriermon's anxiousness up even more.

Kazu pulled out an elaborate diagram, displaying an average college dorm room. MarineAngemon, who was flying out of the kitchen with a small cream puff in his 'hands' looked over and saw the whole thing… and just shook his head and kept flying towards Kenta's room.

"This is The Pyramid," Kazu explained. "What you do is, you get into their room and get a pile of their underwear. Boxer shorts work best. You take a bunch of pairs of their underwear and tape them to their window in the shape of a pyramid for any wanderers to see. And underneath the pyramid, you place a banner saying '(insert guy's name here) has come out of the closet'. Simple, yet humiliating, making it the perfect opening prank. Usually, you'd have to wait until the guy does his laundry… but with you, I don't think that'll be a problem."

"Can you get in without being seen, Terriermon?" Kenta asked.

"This is me we're talking about," Terriermon said confidently. "Should be a piece of cake."

Kazu chuckled. "Perfect! Then we wait until tomorrow after class. Can't wait to see the look on… uh… Terriermon? Just what is this guy's name, anyway?"

Terriermon huffed. "The goof's name… is Davis."

* * *

  
Henry was in the kitchen, cooking himself a couple of Tyson Meat chicken sandwiches and watching the evening news when the doorbell to the apartment and rung. At first he thought it was Terriermon on his way back from Kazu and Kenta's place, but when he opened the door he was greeted by two guys who seemed to be upperclassmen. One of them had blond hair with quite a bit of hair gel, keeping it in pristine condition. The other had brown hair… a LOT of brown hair that just seemed to puff up.

"Hey, what's up? I don't think we've met you yet," the guy with the big hair said. "You live here by yourself?"

"Uh… no, my roommate's out right now…"

"Well, we're your RA's. I'm Tai and the man of a thousand hair sprays over here is Matt."

"TAI!" Matt snapped. He quickly regained his composure and turned to Henry. "You'll have to excuse 

the guy whose hair violates three different zoning laws. We're just walking around introducing ourselves to everybody. What was your name?"

"Henry."

"Henry… okay… well, we were just stopping by to say 'hi'. Tell your roommate we came by?"

"Uh, yeah, sure."

"Hey… what's that in your hand…?" Tai asked curiously.

Henry looked down at the box in his hands. "Oh this? This is just a box of my cards for the Digimon Card Game."

Matt's eyes widened. "Um… … say that again?"

"The Digimon Card Game?" Henry repeated. "Wait a minute… you guys have never heard of it, either?"

"Us… heard of Digimon…?" Tai stuttered. "Why… n-no… never heard of it."

"That's weird," Henry muttered. "I guess no one in Odaiba has ever heard of Digimon. Maybe it's true that it's never gotten past Shinjuku. That's really weird… especially since I thought this was the place where a Greymon and a Parrotmon were sighted battling nearly ten years ago."

"Is that what those were?" Matt said almost casually. "I can't tell the difference anymore. I mean, this IS Japan. We get monster sightings all the time. You know… Godzilla, Rodan, Greymon… same difference."

Henry sweatdropped. "I see your point… I guess."

"You know, Matt? I think we got something we need to discuss," Tai suddenly piped up. "RA business. Nice meeting you, Henry. Let's go, Matt."

Tai practically pushed Matt aside and into the RA's room. Henry could only stare blankly. This was starting to get **very** weird. Everyone seemed to get so apprehensive whenever he brought up the card game. Maybe they heard about what happened in West Shinjuku. Maybe there was still some anxieties left over from that old Highton View Terrace story, unless it really WAS just a story like Takato thought.

Unable to make any sense of it, Henry just shrugged and went back to his room.

* * *

  
Tai made sure the coast was clear and shut the door. "Ok… tell me I didn't hear what I thought I did."

"He definitely said Digimon Card Game," Matt confirmed. "I didn't know there was a Digimon Card Game. So some person in Shinjuku or wherever he said he was from made a Digimon Card Game."

Tai shook his head. "You know what this means, don't you?"

"No… I don't. What does it mean?"

"Somebody's making a profit off us!"

Matt blinked. "Profit? You're thinking about profits? First of all, they're profiting off the Digimon… not us."

"But don't you think we should be getting a cut?" Tai pointed out. "I mean we ARE DigiDestined."  


"And how many people know that?" Matt shot back. "Not a lot. The thing I don't understand is… there haven't even been that many Digimon sighted in the Real World. How could they make a card game out of them already? It's only been… ten years."

Silence. Tai and Matt realized what had just been said.

"It's really been a long time, hasn't it?" Tai said softly. "It's been over ten years since the day we first fell into the Digital World. I can't believe so much time has already passed. Matt… we're not getting any younger. I feel so… old."

Matt looked at Tai strangely. "Old? Tai… we're only 22. We're not old."

"Yeah, but I feel like I reached my peak at twelve. We're a lot older now."

"So what's your point?"

Tai thought about that. "Maybe it's time… we think about the future. Um… I'll be right back; I have some thinking I need to do."

Matt shook his head. "Jeez, all these feelings over a stupid card game?"

Tai shrugged as he walked out. This was about more than a card game. This was about life. Life… that was going by far too fast for Tai.

* * *

  
Zoë walked the campus of Odaiba University silently and alone. She needed to be alone for a while after the little stint with Takuya and the other guys. She didn't want to go back to her apartment angry… ESPECIALLY if Rika was there. She did not want to deal with the moody and attitudinal girl right now.

The argument she had with Takuya was probably the first conversation she had with him all summer, and while it wasn't the conversation she was hoping for, it was still the first time they spoke in a while. His impulsive nature just didn't work with her at sometimes. It was true that that was what attracted Zoë to Takuya in the first place, but now that she had to live with it for who knows how long, it was starting to wear thin on her being.

She walked past happy couples who didn't seem to have a care in the world. "_That was me at one time_…"

The lovey-dovey couples were just too much to bear. Zoë turned heel and walked away from the University Park and walked towards a small ice cream stand. The person who was running it was a young girl who looked about Zoë's age, give or take a year or two. She had short blue hair that came down to her shoulders and wore a uniform.

Zoë walked up to the ice cream lady and looked at her wares. "Looking for anything special?" the girl asked with a jovially smile that seemed infectious.

"Yeah, a pick-me-up," Zoë said in a sarcastic tone, but the girl seemed to take it to heart.

"Ooh, I have just the thing!"

The girl opened up her freezer and took out the ice cream scooper. She dug it and put two scoops of ice cream on a cone. "Here, I call it Feel Good Double Slap!"

Zoë took the cone of ice cream out of the girl's hand and grabbed a spoon. She took one bite of the frozen treat and didn't feel like she was in heaven, but admittedly felt much better than a moment ago. "Mmm… I haven't had any ice cream in awhile," she said quietly, savoring the flavor of the 

magnificent snack. Then she looked back at the girl, who was watching the blonde eat her work with happiness.

"Umm… what do I owe you?"

"Oh! No charge! This is on the house!"

"Are you sure?"

"Please, go! Just say you're a friend and I'm trying to comfort you on whatever was bothering you," the girl waved her hand in a dismissive way. Zoë didn't feel comfortable just eating and not paying, but the ice cream lady was insisting so heavily…

"Okay, if you say so…"

Zoë smiled and waved, and the girl returned with even more 'oomph'!

Zoë began walking again, eating on her ice cream and feeling better all the same. Now all she had to do was deal with her current situation when she got back to her apartment… Rika Nonaka… Ms. Anti-Social.

* * *

  
Rika opened the door and turned on the lights. Jeri and the other two girls, Zoë and Kari, hadn't come back, so Rika was all by herself for the moment. At least that's what she thought. With no one around, Rika locked the door so that she could have some alone time with a close friend of hers. Seeing the living room cleared, Renamon literally came out of thin air from the window and walked in. To Rika's surprise, Renamon looked… exhausted.

"What's with you?" the concerned Rika asked. "You look like you were in a fight."

"You could say that," Renamon panted.

Rika's eyes widened. "You mean you _were_ in a fight? What happened?"

Renamon shrugged. "I met with an old 'friend'. Someone I didn't always get along with. She was in the apartment."

"Someone else was in here?" Rika asked.

"Yes… a Digimon."

"There was a Digimon in here?!"

Renamon nodded. "Someone I knew from a long time ago. And she was someone I didn't get along with. I just didn't like her style."

"Care to talk about it?" Rika suggested.

Renamon took a seat by the large love sofa placed in the middle of the living room. "This was a long time ago before I met you, Rika. I was living in another part of the Digital World with a lot of different other Digimon. Like me, they were all trying to become stronger, better fighters. I'd often train with them and try to boost my own strength. And they all took me under their wing. I felt accepted.

"Then one day, it all changed. One day, someone showed up in our territory. It was a poor excuse for a furball named **Gatomon**. We ignored her at first, but she just kept on bothering us and bothering my allies. She kept trying to tell us her life story about how she knew she's been waiting for someone and just couldn't remember. And then she'd tell us how much she wanted… to make friends. I don't know how it started, but everyone started taking a shine to her. In a matter of days, everyone had 

stopped training completely and instead focused on being friendly to the mangy furball. It was like I was the only one who remembered what our purpose was.

"Finally, I decided to confront the cat myself. I approached her and immediately gave her an ultimatum: take her _friendship_ routine somewhere else or face the consequences. I still can't believe she responded to that by trying to be friendly. I was trying to be imposing and fearsome… and she wasn't intimidated at all. I never felt so… inferior. So I decided to show the cat just how weak she was. I dragged her over and threw her off a cliff, into the river below.

"I was satisfied, having gotten rid of our biggest distraction. The others weren't so approving of my actions. Instead of going back to the way it was before, they cast me off. I had a chance to get stronger and I lost it all because of that… furball. I've never forgiven her for that. I had to spend the rest of my life training on my own… until the day you became my Tamer.

"I never thought I'd have to see her again. But she was right here."

"How could this Gatomon get in my room?" Rika asked.

"I don't know," Renamon answered. "But all that matters is that she's gone. And it's a good thing, too. I still can't forget the past and how everyone thought she was a perfect little Digimon."

"Sounds like my roommate," Rika muttered.

"Who, Jeri?"

"No! Jeri can be a little annoying, weird, and occasionally… freaky, but at least I can tolerate her. This other girl, on the other hand, is working my last nerve with HER whole 'friendship' routine. And you haven't had to hear her life story these last few hours. Every honor possible and beloved by everyone. A total Miss Perfect! I can't begin to tell you how much those types of people ANNOY me!"

"No kidding," Renamon concurred. "And you have to live with her for the whole year?"

"Oh no! I'm not going to spend a year with a 'Miss Perfect'! I don't know how, Renamon, but there's got to be some way to bring that girl down to Earth. She will be humbled eventually… even if I have to humble her myself."

"If anyone knows anything about humbling people, it's you, Rika. Unless we're talking about… you know…"

Rika shot Renamon a cold stare. "How many times do I have to tell you? His name is NOT to be spoken around me!"

"Okay… you sure get touchy whenever anyone mentions…"

Renamon stopped in mid-sentence when she saw Rika glaring at her again. That name was a very touchy subject and anytime anyone mentioned _**him**_, Rika would almost always completely lose her cool. She was very sensitive when it came to… _**him**_.

That's when someone knocked at the door. Renamon decided to make herself scarce and go invisible again, as she usually liked to do to keep herself hidden from view. Rika walked over and opened the door to see a boy with a large box in his hand. He was wearing a yellow shirt and a red jacket over it. And coincidentally (to Rika, anyway) he had goggles sitting on top of a hat.

"Man, what did Takato do? Start a trend?" Rika said dryly.

The goggle-boy shifted nervously. "Uh… hey… is Zoë here?"

Rika looked up and thought about the question. At that moment she couldn't distinguish between Zoë or Kari in her mind's eye, as they were both so aggravating. But, then she realized that Zoë, the 

blonde, could possibly be more tolerable than Miss Perfect Kari.

"No, she went out for a while," Rika finally said, studying the boy's facial expressions. He seemed oddly uncomfortable and nervous.

At that same exact moment, Jeri came walking up behind the boy. "Excuse me," she said politely. The boy moved to the side and let Jeri in the doorway. "Sorry about that," he apologized, his face still a solemn expression.

"You're back fast," Rika said dryly to Jeri.

"Yeah, well…" Jeri started, but then she looked at the other goggle boy and stopped. "Things happened. Who's your friend Rika?"

Rika wasn't surprised that Jeri would jump to such insane conclusions, but she wasn't going to stress it too much. "He's not a friend of mine. He was looking for Zoë."

"Oh, she's not—"

The goggle boy stopped Jeri before she could finish her sentence. "Yeah, she already told me."

Rika stared at the goggle boy's uncomfortable face a bit longer, with Jeri looking over shoulder. The three of them stood there for a couple more minutes in an odd silence, until…

"Is there anything else that we could help you with?" Rika said rudely.

"Rika!" Jeri stepped in and smiled warmly at the boy. "Do you want us to give that box to Zoë?"

Jeri started reaching for the large cardboard box, but the boy instantly pulled away, as if touching the box would bring some sort of omen. "NO!" he yelled in fear.

Jeri pulled away in shock, surprised at the boy's reaction. Rika, however, didn't like that very much. "Well, what else do you want?!" she said, her aggravation quickly rising.

"Uh… well… nothing, I guess. Could you just tell Zoë that Takuya came by?"

Jeri's shocked expression soon vanished as she waved to the goggle head. "Sure thing, Takuya! I'll be sure to tell her!"

Takuya smiled a lopsided smile, his face still as uncomfortable as it was when Rika first opened the door. "Thanks."

He heaved the box under his arm to get a better grip and began walking back down the hallway. Rika scoffed and shut the door.

"Man, what is up with guys and goggles today? I thought Takato was the only idiot who wore those while NOT swimming!" Rika said, and then she turned to Jeri, who was walking towards the kitchen. "Oh, yeah. Why are you back so early?" she said as Jeri opened the pantry to check to see if any snacks were in there.

"Well, it took me a while to drop Guilmon off," Jeri replied. "And it took me even longer to convince Takato to let him stay. And I think Takato lost his appetite when we went to dinner."

"What happened?"

"He ended up wearing a soup and salad on his head."

Rika scoffed. "He's probably just upset because the soup stained his goggles."

"It's kind of a coincidence, actually. It's not the first time Takato ran into this guy who accidentally spilled his soup and salad on him… and what's even weirder is that he and Kari seem to know each other. They were eating together. And that guy had goggles, too."

Rika sighed and threw her hands up in the air. "It's official. I may have to transfer." But after a second passed, she started to put two and two together. "Hmm… makes sense. If Kari's 'Miss Perfect', then OF COURSE the boyfriend has to be a total klutz. I'm not surprised at all."

"Ugh, come on Rika… she never said he was her boyfriend."

"She never said that he wasn't… did she? Maybe we can ask her ourselves and find out."

Jeri thought about that… and smiled. "Think we should?"

"We've found out everything else about her 'perfect' life. We might as well ask about her love life. We'll do it tomorrow. We'll go ahead and ask her every question imaginable."

Jeri giggled and put her arm across Rika's shoulder. "And we won't leave a stone unturned, will we?"

Rika shrugged Jeri's arm off. "Don't… touch me!"

If there was one thing Rika was willing to admit, it was that Jeri wasn't all bad. Rika still considered her a close friend, even if she could be a little TOO girly at times. And whenever the time came to work together, Rika and Jeri could make a good team. And now came the time to work together…

… to grill Kari Kamiya.

* * *

  
The wait was an impatient one. It had been a while since The Digimon Empress arrived in the Digital World and she was supposed to be working to gather troops for the upcoming invasion. So far, he had yet to see results. And he was starting to get impatient. If an invasion was going to be successful, then they had to have an army large enough to combat a possible resistance from the DigiDestined. He knew how strong they could be since he had battled them once before. But this time, things would be different.

Now that he was reconfigured, he was ready to play with the DigiDestined again, but he soon found himself recruited for a mission of a magnitude even HE could not imagine. It all sounded so delicious that he could not resist. Indeed there was a deadly game about to be played. He couldn't have planned it better himself.

Suddenly, he saw a Tortomon approaching the entrance to the underground Server base. He waved his way and the Tortomon obliged. It looked like The Digimon Empress had done her job and implanted the Black Gear. A Tortomon could be very destructive and he was glad to have one on his side.

"What have we here?" another voice called out. "Ooh, a Tortomon! Splendid! I see the Black Gears are working perfectly."

He turned around to see the sinister ultimate-level android Digimon, Datamon, approach him. Datamon had lived quite the past, himself. He was originally imprisoned by Etemon to run his Dark Network, but had rebelled against him. Of course, Datamon was quite the evil one and he managed to trick the DigiDestined into rescuing him. Once he was freed, he attempted to take over and use Etemon's Dark Network for himself. He even attempted to make a copy of one of the DigiDestined for his own nefarious purposes. But the meddling humans foiled him and he was sucked into a black hole. Now he was reconfigured and just as deranged as ever.

It was Datamon, in fact, who first discovered the brains behind this whole operation years ago. Stumbling upon him with one of his many clever devices, Datamon made contact with _The Dark One_ 

and was given the proposal to create an army for an invasion of the Real World.

He, himself, didn't run into Datamon until one day many years ago. And he was recruited for a number of reasons. For one thing, he was very powerful and nearly destroyed the DigiDestined years ago. But another thing was, he knew better than any other how to pull strings. And combined with Datamon's intellect and creations, he was able to begin pulling the strings of a certain Digimon Empress. But that was a story in itself.

"Although we are behind schedule, we are still making sufficient progress," Datamon said. "At this rate, we should have our army ready any day now."

"So what should we do?" he asked. "Should we make contact again?"

"We all know he's the brains behind the operation," Datamon pointed out. "He knows just what to do. So maybe we should get our instructions from him. Even IF our little Digimon Empress isn't around."

He went into a fit of crazed laughter. "It's almost time, isn't it? It's almost time to play, right?"

"Yes, it's almost time for the games to begin. And that will be most glorious."

He was excited. He couldn't wait to get this party started. He had forgotten what it was like to play with the DigiDestined and he was eager to party with them again. And nobody knew more about partying than…

… _Puppetmon._

* * *

  
"So have you liked it here so far?"

"I love it here, TK! I wondered what I was missing in Japan when I first met you. And now I see how wonderful life is over here. It was starting to get boring around France. I'm just glad to get out."

After a long dinner, everyone was now walking along the grassy path of the University Park. Davis couldn't take his eyes off TK and this new girl, but he wasn't the only one. He also noticed Kari was watching the two like a hawk. It looked like Catherine's sudden arrival completely caught her off-guard. And it appeared that neither TK nor Catherine were aware of Kari's glares. Davis started to think… she was jealous.

"Um… Kari?" Davis began. "Can we talk… alone?" Before Kari even answered, Davis turned to his friends. "I'm sure you guys have a lot to talk about. We'll catch up to you."

Kari couldn't even protest, because Davis was already dragging her by a tree. Everyone stopped momentarily, but decided to let the two have their moment of privacy and kept walking along.

"Did you really have to pick now to talk to me?" Kari huffed.

"I had to!" Davis shot back. "You were glaring a hole right into Catherine and TK. Is something bothering you?"

"W-Why… would you t-think something's bothering me?" Kari stuttered.

Davis raised an eyebrow. "Kari…"

"Well… maybe something _is_ bothering me," Kari sighed. "Didn't you notice the way TK's eyes nearly popped out of his skull when he saw that Catherine girl? It was like he saw the most beautiful girl in the world. We were together for almost five years… and he _never_ looked at me like that… not even once."

Davis frowned. "Kari… I'm sure it was just because he hadn't seen her in a long time. I'm sure it's not what you think it is."

Kari's face fell. "I guess it didn't take TK so long to forget about me."

"Who said he's forgetting about you?" Davis asked incredulously. "I mean… they're just talking. And just because TK hasn't taken his eyes off Catherine doesn't mean anything. Like I said, it's just because he hasn't seen her in a long time. I don't think it's because he likes her or anything. And even if it is… then what does it matter? You two broke up, remember? That's… why we're going out this Friday night, right?"

Kari came to a realization. "You know what, Davis? You're right. I have to remember that TK and I are finished. It's just… not easy to stop looking at the past."

"Are you or TK ever going to tell any of us why you broke up in the first place?"

Kari hesitated. "Davis … … I don't want to talk about it. Please just respect that."

"Ok… I won't ask. Kari… if you're not ready to start dating again… then we don't have to go out Friday night…"

Kari stopped Davis in his tracks. "Davis… I DO want to go out with you. You're a very sweet guy and I would never forgive myself if I didn't go out with you. I've never known anyone else who cares about me as much as you do. So don't you even think that you're getting out of going out with me Friday night. We're going out and we're going to have a good time."

Davis blushed. "I can't wait."

Kari kissed Davis on the cheek. "Let's catch up to everyone."

Davis stood frozen, with his cheeks blushing a bright red. "Yeah… can't wait…"

Kari giggled as she tried to lead Davis by the hand. Of course, Davis had lost all feeling in his legs. With each passing day… Kari seemed to be falling for him more and more… and that's all he could ever really ask for.

* * *

  
Kari couldn't believe herself. For a moment, she was actually getting jealous. Davis was right, though. She had nothing to be jealous about. For one thing, she and TK were already broken up. And another thing, jealousy was completely unnecessary. There was nothing that said there was anything more between Catherine and TK than two friends reminiscing over old times. Maybe Kari was just feeling insecure because Catherine looked so beautiful.

As Kari continued leading Davis by the hand, she wondered if she could ever hope to be that beautiful. But all she had to do was look into the eyes of Davis to see that she looked just fine.

"Psst… Kari!"

Kari stopped as she heard someone calling her from one of the bushes. She took Davis's hand and walked him towards the bush. Kari gasped when she saw Gatomon there and she looked a bit worse for the wear.

"Gatomon, what happened?" Kari asked. "What are you doing out here?"

"She's here, Kari," Gatomon said nervously.

"Who?" Davis asked curiously.

Gatomon looked sadly into Kari's eyes. Kari didn't understand at first and then she remembered the story Gatomon told her earlier. Kari's eyes widened and Gatomon nodded, as if to confirm her silent guess.

"I don't know how, but she got in our apartment," Gatomon continued. "And we picked up right where we left off. First we argued… then we fought. We both fell right out the window."

Davis scratched his head. "Is there something I should know?"

"Long story," Kari answered without taking her eyes off Gatomon. "Are you all right?"

"I'm ok," Gatomon nodded. "I showed _her_ just how strong I could be. If she knows what's good for her, she won't want another piece of this."

Kari bent down so Gatomon could jump in her arms. "Come on then. Let's get back to the apartment. If nobody's there, maybe I can feed you something from the fridge."

"I hope so," Gatomon grinned.

Davis tapped Kari on the shoulder. "You want to tell me what's going on?"

"If you walk me to my place, I'll tell you everything."

"It's a deal!"

"Ok… it's like this…"

* * *

  
Matt reached over for the phone in his room. A few hours had passed since Tai had gone to take a walk, to supposedly think about where his life was going. Matt shrugged. He knew more than anybody how important it was to go finding one's self, but he honestly thought Tai was overreacting on this one. After all, Tai was reacting out of the revelation of a CARD GAME! It was absurd.

But the revelation of a Digimon Card Game was nothing to sneeze at and Matt knew that. That's why he decided to pick up the phone and call his girlfriend upstairs.

_"Hello?"_

"Hey, Sora! You busy right now?"

_"Well… Mimi and I were working on some designs, but we could take a break. What's up?"_

""We need to have a little meeting… you know, the old gang. There's something we need to talk about."

_"And what would that be?"_

"We'll talk about it when I get there. In the meantime, call Izzy and Joe. They'll want to hear this, too."

_"Uh… ok. So I guess you and Tai will be here?"_

"Well… I am. I don't know about Tai. He isn't here right now."

_"Where is he?"_

"He's taking a walk, because… well… maybe it's better I don't say."

"_What? Why can't you tell me now, Matt?"_

Matt didn't quite know how to answer. "It's… weird. Tai's just been acting strange. I'll tell you about it tomorrow; I'm feeling pretty tired."

_"Fine then! But you'd better tell me tomorrow! This is making me curious."_

"Ok! Night, Sora! Love you."

"_Love you, too._"

Matt hung up and went straight to bed. He hoped he wasn't forgetting about any RA business, but he was sure there was nothing to do. Besides, if there WAS, then Tai could always do it when he got back.

Tomorrow, it would be time to have a chat with the old DigiDestined.


	5. Classes

The sun rose and the alarm clock blared, signaling the start of a brand new day. Davis instinctively reached over, grabbed the clock, and tossed it across the room, like he usually did every morning he had to go to school. But he had forgotten about the other person sharing his room with him.

"OW! Davish!"

Davis suddenly went wide awake. He sat up and opened his eyes to see where he threw his clock. He saw that he literally clocked Veemon on the head.

"S-Sorry, Veemon. I forgot you were there."

Veemon groaned and moved underneath Davis's bed, where he thought it would be safer than out in the open.

Davis moaned and literally rolled out of bed. _At least HE doesn't have to worry about going to a class_, Davis thought to himself as he walked out his room. He looked out in the living room and smelt probably one of the most wonderful things he had ever smelt in the last couple of days. He headed towards the smell and found Ken and Wormmon in the kitchen, Ken still in his sleeping clothes.

Ken was over a hot stove, making what looked like pancakes and eggs. Davis's eyes immediately brightened up.

"Hey, Kenny! What's for breakfast?" Davis asked with a large smile on his face.

Ken looked at his friend, and smiled back. "Um... Davis... sorry, but I only made enough for me and Wormmon, seeing as how I don't have to go to class until 11:00 AM."

Davis sweatdropped. "You serious?"

Ken gave a sheepish laugh and nodded in reply. Davis thought his heart couldn't get any lower as his mouth began to water over the delicious meal that Ken was cooking up. "Oh, well... guess I'll get some cereal..." Davis said in a depressed state as he made his way to his bathroom.

Davis walked down the hall and passed TK's room, who was still sleeping the morning away. He took a quick shower and began getting ready for the day's events. After a nice shower, he quickly got dressed into his day's wear (topped off by his goggles) and got ready to go. He poured himself a quick bowl of cereal and grabbed his backpack. Feeling ready for his first day, Davis walked out of his apartment and headed for the hall door. But he ran into someone on the way.

Davis grinned cheerfully. "Hey, Takato!"

Takato was a little wary to say the least. "Hey, Davis. You're not planning on pouring that cereal over my head, are you?"

"Of course not. I wouldn't do that sort of thing on purpose. Besides, I'm eating this. So where are you headed to?"

Takato looked at his schedule. "College Writing 101."

"Me too!" Davis said cheerfully.

Takato blinked. "Uh... great. Well, I guess we can walk there together."

"Oh, of course!"

It looked like there was a smile forming on Takato's face. Davis's cheery demeanor looked to be contagious and Takato was far from immune.

"You know something, Davis? Maybe we got off on the wrong foot. I mean, it's hard to see the good in a person when he's knocking you over, throwing doors in your face, or splashing a soup over your head."

"I know what you mean. If I were you, I would have done something to get even with me."

"Eh, I'm not the kind of guy to get mad easily. Or at least I don't try to be that way..."

"So what kind of guy are you?"

This was the kind of opportunity Davis relished. This was the chance to get to know some new people. And it looked like Takato was more than willing to share as they both headed to their College Writing class together.

"Well, I guess I'm a pretty laid back kind of guy. I've been that way since I was a kid..."

* * *

The sun was rising and the glare from the bright star was already waking Matt for another day. He opened his eyes and sat up, recalling that he arranged for the old gang to meet up in Sora and Mimi's room. He rolled out of bed and turned off his clock.

After combing his hair for a quick second, he walked out of his room and towards the kitchen, only to notice that the apartment was completely empty. Matt was especially surprised when he saw Tai's room door open, his bed unmade and empty. Tai was already gone... even though his first class didn't start until 10:00 AM. It was barely 6:30 AM.

"Tai..." Matt snarled under his breath.

Matt shook his head and just decided to get ready for another day. He'd go to that meeting without Tai if necessary. This whole 'feeling old' thing was beyond ridiculous and Matt knew Tai was just being silly. Maybe the rest of them would agree. But Matt wasn't calling this meeting to discuss Tai. He wasn't even calling it to discuss the existence of that Digimon Card Game. Well... that was part of the reason.

No, Matt actually had an ulterior motive for calling this meeting of the old DigiDestined. He had a proposal he needed to make.

* * *

Class was about to get underway and Henry felt fully prepared for what this day had ahead of him. He was already preparing himself for a long day of classes that began with his freshman computer science class. Of course, before getting into the hands-on part of the class, there was to be a brief intro and that would come from the lecture lab.

Kenta tapped Henry on the shoulder. "Henry... I see someone checking you out."

Henry curiously turned his head to see two girls looking his way, but when they were spotted, they quickly turned back around. It was as if they were nervous.

"What did I tell you?" Kenta grinned. "Shinjuku High's most eligible bachelor."

"We're not starting _that_ again, are we?" Henry groaned.

"It's true, isn't it?"

Henry just stayed silent. Kazu and Kenta just wouldn't let up with that whole bachelor thing. And neither would Terriermon, for that matter. Henry was just hoping to forget about it. It sounded silly. He didn't think he was that desirable.

At about 9:05, Henry saw his professor come in. It was a young woman, likely approaching her thirties, with straight brown hair reaching down to her neck and a white lab coat that went down to her knees.

"Good morning, class. Welcome to CMSI 185, Computer Science, my name is Professor Onodera."

Henry couldn't quite put his finger on it, but this woman looked familiar. He could've sworn he had seen her before.

"Henry, please tell me you aren't checking out our professor," Kenta whispered with a wry grin.

"Shut up," Henry growled softly.

The professor made her way up to the front of the classroom, but she ran into someone. He looked like an older student, who had his hair cut pretty short and was carrying around a laptop.

Professor Onodera was caught by surprise. "Oh... can I help you?"

"Oh, don't mind me," he said before extending his hand. "I'm your Teacher's Aide. I'm Izzy Izumi."

Professor Onodera hesitated before accepting the handshake. "Oh... I get a Teacher's Aide. I wasn't expecting to get one. Well it's very nice to meet you."

"Likewise. So... I'll just let you continue."

Professor Onodera suddenly remembered what she was doing there.

"Oh... yes... thank you, Izzy."

Henry was watching all this intently. He couldn't quite remember from where, but he sensed he had seen this woman before.

* * *

Marcus frowned the entire way to his aunt and uncle's house. He had tried to talk his mother from sending him to their house for a whole week, but once she has made up her mind, there is no persuading her otherwise. They drove in silence while Marcus sulked looking out the passing buildings of Odaiba.

"Oh, come on Marcus, don't be like that! I'm sure you're going to have lots of fun!" Sarah said as she tried to comfort her son's dejected attitude.

"Yeah, about as much fun as going to a museum," Marcus shot back under his breath, but unbeknownst to him, his mother did actually hear him. She just decided to not comment on it. Even she knows that her sister and her brother-in-law could be a little overwhelming at times, but this was the best thing to keep Marcus out of trouble for a while.

She pulled up to her sister's large Victorian home on the outskirts of the city of Odaiba. And they pulled up just in time to see Diane Avalon and her husband, William 'Willy' Avalon, waiting for their arrival.

As soon as the Damon's car pulled up, Diane began grinning from ear-to-ear, as did her husband.

"Sarah!" Diane said as she ran up to her sister, who was just getting out of the car. "Diane!"

The two sisters ran up to each other and exchanged great giant hugs. Marcus took his time getting out of the car, prolonging the inevitable. But, unfortunately, his uncle walked up to his side of the car and opened his door for him. "Marcus Damon! My, look at you!" Uncle Willy said in his high-pitched voice that aggravated Marcus to the core. His uncle opened his car door and extended his arms for a hug, as if Marcus was the same age as his little sister.

Groaning mentally, Marcus got out of the car and embraced his uncle in a tight bearhug. "When's the last time I saw you? My goodness, you've grown! How've you been?" Willy beamed at his nephew, who was trying his best not to frown at his uncle's antics.

"To be honest, Uncle Willy, I couldn't tell you," Marcus said with fake happiness. Inside, he was actually dying to get some space between himself and his uncle.

"Well, go on in the house. I'll get your stuff!" Uncle Willy shooed him away as he went towards the trunk of Sarah's car to retrieve Marcus's luggage.

Marcus quickly left his uncle and walked towards the large house that belonged to his annoying relatives. Marcus had to admit, however, no matter how irritating his aunt and uncle could be, there house was nothing to scoff at. His Aunt Diane was a professor at the college Odaiba University, and his Uncle Willy wrote plays and poems, 'girly stuff', as Marcus's father had so blatantly put it one day.

He walked up the driveway and saw the three cars that sat near the garage. _Naomi has it good_, Marcus thought to himself, thinking of the Avalons' youngest child and only daughter; his cousin.

His mother and aunt were still talking, but the happy tones of greeting were now replaced with muffled voices and worried faces. That got Marcus's juices flowing as to what exactly the two sisters were discussing. And it made Marcus even more curious when his mother began to show a worried frown on her face, as if his Aunt Diane had said something VERY disturbing.

Marcus began walking over to the two, but was intercepted by a large and overly-excited Labrador retriever, the Avalons family dog, Shelby.

Marcus was knocked off his feet and on his butt as Shelby tackled him to the ground, his tail wagging and tongue slobbering the seventeen-year-old down.

"Ack! Get off me you mangy mutt!"

Sarah and Diane immediately stopped talking and rushed over to Marcus, who was struggling to heave the enormous dog off of his person. "Shelby! You stop that, right now!" Diane yelled as she grabbed her dog by the collar and hoisted the animal off of her nephew.

"Marcus, honey, are you alright?" Sarah asked her son as she helped him back on his feet.

"I've been better," Marcus replied angrily, wiping the dirt and slime off of him.

"Sorry, about that Marcus, my boy," said Uncle Willy, who had come from behind the two, Marcus's duffle bag and suitcase in his arms. "Guess he was just as excited to see you as we were."

"Guess so..."

Sarah smiled at her brother-in-law. "Thanks, Willy." Then she turned to her son, who looked even grimmer every time she looked at him. "Marcus..."

Her son was staring at his feet in faux-sadness, even though he didn't want his mother to leave him with these two. "Look at me," Sarah said forcefully as she grabbed her son's cheeks and moved them to the position where his eyes were staring directly into hers. "I don't want you giving your aunt and uncle ANY trouble. Do I make myself clear?"

Marcus sighed in temptation; he didn't know if he would be able to keep that promise. That, however, wasn't the answer that Sarah had wanted to hear. "Marcus! I'm serious! No more fights! Come in BEFORE your curfew! And help your aunt around the house! Please... for me?"

"Okay, Mom, jeez!"

Sarah smiled wryly at her son, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Alright, well, I have to get going before I'm late for work! Be good and call me later tonight."

"I wouldn't have to call if I was at home," Marcus said hopefully, a very sad attempt to get his mother to take him with her.

"Yeah, well... you're not going to be at home, so therefore, you HAVE to call. Be good. And tell your grandfather I said 'hi'!"

Those words extremely surprised Marcus, more so than he would've admitted. His grandfather hadn't visited anyone of them in five months, and this was weird, considering how he used to live with Marcus and his family. Besides his father, Marcus's grandfather was one of the few people that he respected beyond belief. Unfortunately, neither one of them was around much.

"Grandpa's coming?" Marcus asked as his mother started up the car.

Sarah inhaled sharply and closed her eyes, as if she didn't mean to reveal that information to her son just yet. "Aah! U-u-u-uh, Marcus, be good and I'll see you in a couple days!" Sarah Damon pulled hurriedly out of her sister's driveway and sped off in a rush, as if something severe had just happened. Marcus stared after his mother quizzically, not knowing what to make of her strange behavior.

Casting the though aside, he sighed and turned to see his aunt and uncle staring at him from the front door of their home. Being what time it was, his cousin Naomi was obviously in school at this time, so he would at least have time to himself these next few hours.

He walked up to the two of them, his aunt having a stern but loving look on her face.

"Good to have you with us, Marcus," Uncle Willy said, a large smile on his face. His Aunt Diane, however, didn't look all that pleased.

"Be that as it may, Marcus, I've heard that you've been giving your mother quite a bit of trouble with your recent string of... _activities_," Aunt Diane said as she led the two males back into her large home. Marcus didn't like his aunt's choice of words; she made it seem like he was selling drugs and kidnapping little children. EVERY teenage boy gets into a fight every-so-often... Marcus just happens to get into them more than others.

"So, to keep you out of trouble, I've took it upon myself to find you a job," Aunt Diane continued, who had started gathering her things as if she was about to leave. Marcus didn't comprehend on what was going on.

"You **_found_** me a job?"

"Yes, at the university where I can keep an eye on you. No nephew of mine is going to run around punching others without thinking about the consequences."

Uncle Willy acted like he heard none of this and got his own separate set of keys. "I've got to get going. Bye, love," he said to his wife and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. He then turned to Marcus and whispered, "Hang in there, buddy."

Marcus couldn't help but smile. Maybe his uncle wasn't as lame as he thought. He hadn't seen anyone on his mother's side of the family in a while, maybe they've gotten better than before. But, when he turned back to look at his aunt, those thoughts quickly flew up in the sky. "You're going to be working for the university cafeteria... as a janitor."

"A janitor?!"

"Yes, Marcus, a janitor. Maybe a degrading job like that will humble you a little bit."

"Who said I needed humbling?"

"The fact that you don't have long until you're expelled is proof enough that you do," Aunt Diane said before walking briskly to the front door. "Come along now. We wouldn't want you to be late on your first day."

Marcus frowned and had to resist the urge from retorting back at his aunt's smart comment. _She's the one that needs humbling_, he thought to himself as he grabbed his backpack and followed her out of the large mansion.

He just wanted to get this week over with so he could get away from Aunt Diane for a VERY long time.

* * *

Class was getting started and Takato was ready to go. Of course, from the look on Davis's face, it didn't look like he was looking forward to actually having to _sit_ through a class. After getting to know this guy for a few minutes, he didn't start to sound so bad. For one thing, they both realized they had a big interest in goggles.

At around 8:07, the professor walked in. Takato wasn't exactly paying attention, though. But when the professor introduced himself, West Shinjuku's goggle boy got a big shock.

"Good morning, I trust you all enjoyed your vacation. This is College Writing 101. I am Professor Yamaki."

The name immediately got Takato's attention. He turned around to look at the front of the class. Wearing that suit and dark sunglasses and with the lighter hanging from his pocket, there was no mistaking that this was indeed the very same Yamaki from Takato's past. Takato couldn't take his eyes off him. He hadn't seen Yamaki in years. When did he become a college professor?

"Takato? Are you alright?" Davis asked.

Takato blinked. "Uh... yeah..."

For Takato, these fifty minutes would go awfully slow. It felt weird having this old ally as his professor. Yamaki quickly gathered his sheet and started taking roll as any instructor would do. But he would quickly encounter a surprise.

"Hmm... Matsuki?"

Takato raised his hand. "Here!"

Yamaki raised his shades to get a better look and, indeed, he saw Takato sitting in his desk. A knowing smirk widened on his face. He obviously recognized him from the old days. But Yamaki didn't say anything. He just kept taking roll.

This was set to be an interesting semester.

* * *

Time was flying by fast, but Takuya made it to his class on time. It was 8:55 AM and his first class was about to begin. Everyone was starting to take their seats. Takuya scrambled to find anywhere to sit, feeling a little nervous about being in another new environment.

He sat to the next available seat he saw, which was next to a girl with short, brown hair wearing a pink shirt and yellow pants. Her face was, in fact, flawless in Takuya's eyes and was probably the cutest girl he had seen since coming to Odaiba. But, he never would've thought of making a move on her, considering he's still head-over-heels in love with Zoë. He smiled at her, a gesture she warmly returned. "Hey, how you doing? The name's Takuya."

The girl instantly looked at Takuya's goggles and tried her best to stifle in a giggle, but to no avail. Takuya couldn't but help but smile at the girl. She was becoming cuter and cuter to him by the second. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just that... I like your goggles. They're cute," the girl responded, making Takuya blush somewhat. "My name's Kari."

Takuya was about to say something in reply, but at that moment, the professor walked in. "Good morning, class. I hope you all enjoyed your vacation. This is Math 132, Calculus I, and I am your instructor. My name is Dr. Marquez."

She was a slender young woman, probably in her early 20s. She had a long brown ponytail with a pair of glasses, making her look very intelligent. She wore a black dress with a long white lab coat. But what made her particularly interesting to Takuya was that she wasn't even Japanese.

Dr. Marquez started walking around the classroom. "Before I get started, I would just like to say a few things about the course. Obviously, if you don't study, you won't pass."

Takuya frowned at this little piece of information. He never was the one to mock studying habits, and his got considerably better when he first started dating Zoë, who was a genius compared to him. In fact, he wouldn't even be taking Calculus if it wasn't for her. That all seemed pointless now, however, since the two were on such bad terms with each other. He didn't know how he was going to survive this course if TOO much studying was to be involved.

"But there's more to this course than meets the eye. Many of the problems you'll encounter are difficult, but this course will help you find various ways of dealing with them. There are ways to solve them that might surprise you. What may appear to be a problem of about 30-minutes length may actually turn out to take only less than five. If there's one thing I want you all to walk out of this course knowing ...

"... it's that nothing is as it seems."

Math being the subject it was, it never seemed to stimulate Takuya as much as it did now. There was something about Dr. Marquez that was really interesting him. She was making this sound pretty fascinating and was obviously into her work. _Maybe this class won't be so bad, after all_...

Dr. Marquez smiled. "So let us begin..."

* * *

A few minutes had passed since his class ended. Yamaki was just organizing his roll sheet and getting ready to go get some coffee. His first day as a writing professor went very well. Luckily, past experiences and a curriculum he could work with were making this not only easy, but also invigorating. He also found some pretty interesting things in his first day undercover.

"Um... Professor Yamaki?"

And there was one of them, standing by the door. It was an old ally by the name of ...

"Takato, come on in."

Takato Matsuki slowly made his way back into the classroom, stopping in front of Yamaki's desk. Yamaki remembered the strong boy, his friends, and their Digimon. They could be of great assistance, but Yamaki didn't want to resort to the old Tamers at this point in time; his newest ally, Yoshino, was enough for right now. To be honest, he wasn't even sure what he was up against just yet. Yamaki didn't have a suspect in mind. And maybe... there was a little ego involved also. Yamaki wanted to try and wrap this up without the assistance of the old Tamers.

"How have you been, sir?" Takato asked.

Yamaki wasn't ready to reveal everything now. "Well, I've mostly been taking it easy these last few years. I haven't been working as much and... things have been pretty slow. I guess the guys at the top decided that with everything that happened back in West Shinjuku all those years ago, I deserved a break."

"But I didn't know you were a professor here," Takato pointed out.

Yamaki hesitated. He didn't want to tell to Takato that he was undercover. He didn't want to get him mixed up in this unless it was absolutely necessary.

"I've... had my Master's and teaching credentials for a while now and while I'm on leave... I decided to get into teaching."

It wasn't the best excuse in the world, but it looked good enough to work. And sure enough, it looked like Takato had bought it.

"Oh, ok. I guess I wasn't expecting to run into you again. Not like this, anyway."

"I was thinking the exact same thing," Yamaki smirked. "You take it easy, Takato. I look forward to teaching you this semester... and seeing your work. You know the assignment, right?"

Takato sighed. "Pages 1 through 80. I got it."

"Good. Now you better get started on that."

Takato started heading out. "Yes, Professor Yamaki."

A thought suddenly hit Yamaki as he saw Takato walk out. A lot of memories of the past were coming back and they had him wondering ...

... was that Digimon of his here too?

* * *

Zoë rushed in her Psychology class and skidded at the door to a halt. She had nearly overslept and was afraid that she was going to be late. But, surprisingly, she was one of the few students in the classroom. Not many people were present, and the professor apparently wasn't even present yet. She looked around the classroom for any familiar faces, and decided to take a seat in the back of the class when she couldn't recognize anyone she knew.

Sitting down timidly, Zoë took out a pen and a notebook, ready for whatever was coming her way. After about three minutes of waiting on the professor to arrive, the class had become startlingly more packed to where nearly every seat in the small class was full. And Zoë, herself, was in for a shock when a good friend of hers entered the class. It was Koichi Kimura, looking just as shy and quiet as he normally does.

Zoë waved and flagged him down, and pointed to an empty seat next to her. He smiled when he saw her and began walking over to her. "It's good to see a familiar face," Koichi said as he took a seat next to the bubbly blonde.

"No kidding. I thought I was going to have to go through this class by myself," Zoë replied, keeping her eyes peeled by the classroom door for the professor to walk in. Koichi's face suddenly changed from warm and friendly, to stern and firm.

"Zoë... that was a real dirty trick you pulled on us yesterday."

Zoë's face became crestfallen at Koichi's demeaning voice. If anyone was to understand her position, it should've been Koichi, considering he was the most compassionate out of all the boys she knows.

"Koichi, it wasn't a trick. I did because I HAD to," she replied, trying to explain her situation.

"Well, you could've at least called us before just dumping them on us." Koichi looked to his right and noticed a random girl looking their way. Not wanting to let anyone overhear the conversation they were having, he subtly lowered his voice.

Zoë quickly caught the hint, and lowered her voice, as well. "I knew if called, Koji and Takuya would've said no. And no offense or anything, but those two usually have a way of reeling you in into their thought process."

"That's not true! I can think for myself..."

"Whatever. Can you just... attempt to keep them for awhile? At least until I can get a hold of Bokomon and Neemon?"

Koichi looked uncertainly at Zoë, who had put on a large and hopeful smile for the hesitant Warrior of Darkness.

"Pleeeeaaasssse?"

"Mmm, okay, but Koji and Taky are going to like this," Koichi said finally, giving in to the blonde's charm.

Zoë giggled in delight at Koichi, giving him a quick, flirtatious kiss on the cheek. "Doesn't matter, you can think for yourself. Remember?"

Koichi blushed at his friend when a boy who was around their age and blonde hair, himself, walked in the class carrying a briefcase. He looked like he had a mix of emotions going thorough him all at once. He seemed confident, yet, nervous. He seemed older than he actually was, but had the face of youth all at the same time.

Zoë, however, only noticed one thing about the boy. "Ooh, he's cute!"

Koichi smirked, his brother's personality coming out of him. "Better not let Takuya hear you say that." This attitude quickly vanished when he uttered these words though, for Zoë gave him a death glare that would've sent him to the grave if looks could kill. Her point had being proven and her wrath being felt, Zoë had made that little comment go above her. Koichi took this opportunity to change the subject. "Where is our professor? Geez, talk about tardiness!"

Zoë obviously didn't hear him. Her eyes were still transfixed on the new student, who was still mingling in by the front of the class, scanning the class and the students.

They both were in for a surprise when the blonde boy closed the door and walked towards the professor's desk in the front of the class. Zoë's infatuated gaze melted abruptly and Koichi gasped at the sudden realization. "What the hell is going on?" Zoë whispered to her friend, who was just in as much shock as she was. Then, they seemed to lose all thought process when the BOY began talking to the class as a whole.

He cleared his throat and got the rest of the class's attention. Whispers and comments were popping from every student present, all except for the shocked Koichi and Zoë, who had put two and two together and figured out what was going on.

"Welcome to Psychology. My name is Professor Norstein. But, for my sanity and yours... you guys can just call me... Thomas."

* * *

As TK headed to his next class, he saw Ken looking at him curiously. It had been that way since they both left the apartment to go to their history class. And TK knew exactly what he had on his mind.

"What do you want to ask me, Ken?" TK sighed.

"How long have you known that girl?" Ken asked.

TK groaned. "Why does everybody want to know about me and Catherine?!"

Ken sweatdropped. "You two just seemed close, that's all."

TK raised an eyebrow. "We weren't close. We didn't even know each other that long. I mean, if I knew a hot girl like that for a long time, do you think I wouldn't have gotten close to her?"

Ken snickered. "Oh, I can only imagine what Kari would say if she heard something like that."

"What's your point?" TK muttered dryly. "Kari and I broke up, remember?"

"Oh, right. I almost forgot. Sorry, I'm just not used to hearing you say that sort of thing about any other girl."

"Let's drop it," TK scowled through gritted teeth.

Ken just shrugged and said nothing more. TK didn't like being reminded about his breakup with Kari. It still brought back bad memories. On the other hand, maybe this opened up some new doors. He never thought he'd see the beautiful Catherine again. Maybe this could be a new beginning for him. He just wondered what Kari would think.

Then he shrugged that line of thinking off. It didn't matter what Kari thought. If she didn't like this, then that was her problem. He had no obligation to her anymore. They were broken up.

TK and Ken walked into their classroom and sat down in front of a guy in a yellow shirt, a blue overcoat, and topped it off with a blue bandana. Currently, this guy was being interrogated and harassed by a guy wearing a black t-shirt and a girl in a green blouse.

The guy in the blue was scowling severely. "So you're from Shibuya, huh? Hmm, I've been there once with my Mom. Not too far from Shinjuku, right?" the guy in the black shirt asked. "I wouldn't know; I've never been any other place besides Shibuya," the guy in the blue bandana replied, his close and his scowl getting deeper.

The guy in the black shirt looked at the one in the blue bandana curiously. "Man that's rough? You have NEVER been outside your hometown? Well, better late than never!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right." The guy in the bandana signaled that as the end of the conversation and pulled out an iPod. He put the headphones on and began to what seemed to like to everybody else, meditate. The guy in the black shirt slightly frowned before turning to Ken and TK.

"Man, some people are just NOT friendly... heh, but I'm used to that by now, especially having to deal with... certain OTHERS. What's up, guys. My name's Kazu."

"Oh, my name's TK. And this is Ken."

The girl sitting behind Ken extended the hand of friendship. "Hi! My name's Jeri."

"Oh, I think our friend, Davis, might have told us about you," Ken said, accepting the handshake. "You're Takato's friend, right?"

"Uh... is Davis the one who spilled the soup and salad on Takato?" Jeri asked.

TK chuckled. "That sounds like Davis, alright. It's nice to meet you, Jeri. Hmm... where else have I heard that name before?"

"Maybe Kari told you about me. I'm her roommate. Uh... one of them, anyway."

"You know, it'd be nice to get to know each other like this," Kazu sighed. "I mean, I've only heard about you guys... especially Davis. But I can't believe we start class in about a minute."

"I take it you aren't the studious type?" TK asked.

"Eh, not really. It's kinda been that way since I was a kid. Even going back to elementary school. Oh man, I could go on all day about this one teacher I had. She totally had it in for me and my best friend."

"You didn't like her?" Ken asked.

"No way!" Kazu scoffed. "Miss Asaji? I couldn't stand that woman at all. You want to talk about a windbag..."

Jeri gasped. "Kazu?"

"Jeri, I'm not finished. Anyway, you want to talk about a windbag, Miss Asaji was the kind of teacher who would never shut up. And talk about BORING. I went through four years of high school and all of those teachers combined couldn't hold a candle to how boring Miss Asaji was. She was like my instant cure for insomnia. I am SO glad to never have to see her again. Jeri? Why are you pointing like that?"

Kazu noticed that the guy who he was talking to earlier had put away his iPod and was attentively looking at the front of the classroom... as if... Kazu slowly turned around and the young man saw a middle-aged long-haired woman in a purple dress towering over him. TK didn't know why Kazu's mouth suddenly fell wide open. And he didn't know why this woman had a very wry grin on her face. Then he found out why.

"Hello, Kazu. Remember me?"

"M-M-M-M-M-M-Miss..."

"That's PROFESSOR Asaji to YOU, Mr. Shiota. I'd love to say hello, but I have a class to start. Besides, if I keep talking to you all day, I'd probably just bore you."

Professor Asaji started walking to the front of the class as Kazu's mouth just stayed open. Ken waved a hand over his face and he got no reaction. The poor guy was in utter shock.

Jeri sweatdropped. "Wow... that was unexpected."

Ken grinned. "Hey TK, it's a good thing nothing like that's happened to..."

TK cut him off by holding his hand up. "Ken... PLEASE don't tempt fate."

Miss Asaji began what was sure to be a long class. "Good morning, class. And welcome to Ancient Western Civilization..."

* * *

The bell rang ten minutes ago and that meant school was out at Odaiba High. And that meant Cody was free for the day. Of course, he had another hundred and something days to go. But for right now, he just wanted to forget about high school and go visit his old friends, who were now all going to Odaiba University. But this didn't seem to be a regular walk, because Cody noticed something behind him.

A girl around his age was walking right behind, as if she were going the same way... or following him. It was the same girl Cody had seen for a while now; the very same Mexican girl who found him in the Inoue's store. Cody stopped in his tracks and turned around.

"Hey, are you following me?"

The girl suddenly noticed Cody and stopped. "Oh, I didn't see you here."

"Really? Why are you following me?"

The girl shrugged nonchalantly. "Man, you are SO paranoid. What makes you think I'd follow you _anywhere_?"

"You want to know why, Rosa? Because every time I turn around, you seem to be right there."

"Cody, please believe me when I say I would NOT follow you anywhere. You must have a pretty high opinion of yourself."

"Well if you aren't following me, then where are you going?"

"I'm going to Odaiba University."

"HA! You **are** following me! That's where I'm going, too!"

"That's not following you. That's called coincidence, _burro_! I know someone up there. But what are you going there for?"

"I have friends up there. They said I could drop by anytime... and today's as good a time as any, so I decided to go up for a visit."

"If we're both going up there, then we might as well go together," Rosa suggested.

"Fine, but don't get any ideas," Cody smirked.

Rosa scoffed and smacked Cody upside the head. "_Puerco_."

Cody rubbed the back of his head. "And no fair insulting me in a different language."

"Just walk, _burro_."

Cody shrugged and walked beside Rosa. He was sixteen going on seventeen in about three months, and was growing older each day. He had come a long way from that little kid who first entered the Digital World at the age of nine. If anything, some elements of Davis, Ken, and TK were starting to rub off on him. Of course, that wasn't always a good thing.

He couldn't wait to see his friends again. But he didn't want them to get the wrong idea when he walked in with Rosa

* * *

Later that day, around 4:00 PM, Matt knocked on the Resident Advisors' door on the second floor. He didn't have to wait long before Sora opened the door and let him in. Matt came in and Sora quickly shut the door behind him. He started to wonder why Sora would be so quick to close the door, but he soon saw why. Sora and Mimi were both harboring Digimon, namely Biyomon and Palmon. And the two Digimon... were wearing dresses. Biyomon had a little red dress while Palmon wore a small pink dress with floral patterns. And of course, both of them were wearing hats.

"What in the world do guys got going on?" Matt asked curiously.

"They're helping us with our new designs," Sora answered. "We're hoping to expand into children's apparel by next fall."

Sora and Mimi hadn't given up on their endeavor of a fashion line. The STMT label wasn't exactly a multimillion dollar conglomerate by any means. But the fact that it was still going on strong was a testament to Sora and Mimi's will and talent.

Matt shrugged. "I can't believe the clothing line has lasted this long. I thought..."

"You thought **_what_**?" Sora cut him off, making sure to give him a cold stare.

"Yes, Matt, what exactly **_did_** you think?" Mimi added with a tone of anger.

Matt shrugged again and tried to divert their attention. "Hey, Biyomon! That's a good look for you!"

"You think so?" Biyomon asked. She twirled around to show off the whole dress. "This kind of design would take the Digital World by storm... that is... if we wore clothes."

"I didn't doubt Mimi for a second," Palmon added. "She's always had a sixth sense for what's in."

As Biyomon and Palmon continued to show off their ensemble, there was another knocking on the door. Sora and Mimi shot the Digimon knowing glances and they both took the hint. Biyomon and Palmon slinked to the corner of the living room and stood perfectly still, going into their stuffed animal act. Sora opened the door, but found that it wasn't a stranger, but it was just junior Izzy Izumi and fifth-year senior Joe Kido. Izzy was carrying his laptop, a significant upgrade from his old pineapple laptop, and Joe was carrying... Gomamon.

Joe stumbled in the apartment and dropped Gomamon. "You've got to go on a diet!"

"Speaking of food, I'm pretty hungry," Gomamon grinned. "Got anything to eat?"

Palmon walked over and stuffed a bagel in Gomamon's mouth. "Here! Eat this!"

The fishy Digimon swallowed the bagel whole. "A little sour for my tastes."

"You know, I don't think we're all meeting here to feed you," Joe told Gomamon. Then he turned to Matt. "You're the one who called this meeting. What's up?"

"Since when does Matt call meetings?" Izzy pointed out. "Doesn't Tai usually reserve that 'honor' for himself?"

"Tai's out right now," Matt answered. "I haven't been able to get in touch with him all day. It's been that way since last night. He says he needs to do some soul-searching because he's feeling old."

"Tai's feeling old?" Joe asked with a tone of skepticism.

"Old? We're barely in our early 20s," Mimi said. "I don't even have wrinkles yet, thank goodness."

"Why would Tai suddenly start feeling old?" Sora asked.

"Because of a little discovery we made downstairs," Matt tried answering. "And it's the other reason I called us all here. Did you guys know... about a Digimon Card Game?"

Izzy raised an eyebrow. "This isn't a business proposition, is it? I don't have a single dime to invest."

"No, there's _already_ a Digimon Card Game," Matt clarified. "There's a Digimon Card Game out there!"

"But... how can that be?" Sora asked skeptically. "There've hardly been any Digimon sightings here unless you want to count that ugly incident with Myotismon, but that was ten years ago."

"Actually, the kid Tai and I ran into remembered hearing about the Highton View Terrace incident," Matt continued. "But that's not the point."

"Then what is your point?" Izzy asked. "So someone's seen the phenomenon of Digimon in the Real World and has decided to make a game out of it. Likely, it's just a regional thing. Don't tell me you think we should be profiting off that."

"No, actually that's what Tai thinks," Matt said.

"Then what's the point you're trying to make, Matt?" Joe asked.

"Well... if this Digimon Card Game is spreading like I think it is... then the whole country and maybe even the world may be starting to get an idea of what Digimon are. So I'm thinking... maybe we should think about dropping the whole stuffed animal thing. Don't you all think it's time to let the world know about the Digimon and that they _are _real? Isn't it about time for the Digimon to reveal themselves to the world?"

**SILENCE**

Matt frowned. "Well?"

Izzy finally broke the silence. "Are your brain cells malfunctioning?"

"You've got to be kidding!" Joe added.

"You must be out of your mind!" Mimi finished.

Matt sweatdropped. "I take it you aren't cool with the idea."

"Why don't you think about what you just suggested, Matt?" Izzy began. "Think about how the populous reacted to seeing Greymon, Parrotmon, and later on, Myotismon. Everyone panicked! And some panicked more than others, right Mimi?"

Mimi nodded. "My parents ended up moving me halfway across the world because of it. Not to mention that they break out in hives at the mere mention of Digimon."

"Matt... I agree that Digimon can't keep up this charade forever," Izzy continued. "But to think that the world's ready for such a huge revelation would be madness."

Matt blinked. "So what are you saying?"

"He's saying it's too early," Joe replied. "Some people are still trying to forget the whole Myotismon 'I'm-here-to-take-over-the-world' incident. People are ignorant and afraid of what they can't understand. So I have to agree with Izzy on this one."

"Me too," Mimi added. "I would love it if humans and Digimon could live in together in peace, but that can't happen right now. Especially with human nature being what it is. I'm sorry Matt, but I agree with Joe and Izzy."

Matt shrugged. "But aren't you all tired of hiding your Digimon?"

"Of course we are," Joe answered. "Trust me; it's no fun to carry Gomamon around all the time."

"I can be a pretty heavy load," Gomamon grinned.

"But the risks are just too great," Joe continued. "The Digital World is in peace right now. But if we reveal it to people, then they might try to take advantage of it, reshape it, or even destroy it. There aren't just evil Digimon out there, but also evil people. We can't forget that."

It was all sinking in slowly to Matt. "So... you're saying..."

Izzy decided to put his answer delicately. "All opposed, raise their hands."

Izzy, Joe, and Mimi all raised their hands.

"The nays have it," Izzy nodded. "Sorry, Matt. We can't do this right now."

Matt sighed and headed for the door. "Okay, I respect your decision. Meeting adjourned."

Without hearing a second word, Matt walked out the door. He was obviously disappointed with the outcome. Matt was tired of Digimon having to hide from the world. He wanted Digimon to come to the Real World with confidence. But he also had to admit that his friends had a point. People would overreact to seeing new, strange creatures in their world. That's one of the reasons that Matt kept Gabumon in the Digital World. He was afraid of the consequences of someone discovering him.

Matt was ready to head downstairs to go back to his apartment. He was wondering if Tai had come back, but he didn't make it to the staircase before someone called out for him.

"Matt?"

Matt turned around to see Sora, who was slowly walking up to him.

"Matt... I think it's a great idea," Sora told him. "It's just that... the others aren't ready yet."

"They probably have a good point," Matt sighed. "You think the Digimon will ever be able to come out, Sora?"

Sora smiled and her eyes sparkled with hope. "I know they will someday. It might even be sooner than you think. You never know what might happen."

Matt smiled back. "Thanks, Sora. I can always count on you to make me feel better. Think you can do that for Tai when he gets back?"

Sora smirked flirtatiously. "Well... why don't we go back to your place and wait for him? I bet we can keep ourselves busy while we wait."

"Ooh, I like that idea," Matt grinned hungrily. He quickly dragged Sora away by the hand. "Let's go!"

Having time alone with Sora was the best Matt could have asked for. He was almost hoping Tai didn't come back at all.

* * *

TK slowly made his way downstairs alongside Ken, Kazu, and Jeri. The long day was finally over and everyone was happy for that. Now it was time to go back to their apartments, but TK couldn't help but notice something.

"Kazu, are you ok?"

Kazu had a bewildered look on his face the whole day. It started when he saw Professor Asaji.

"Don't mind him," Jeri scoffed. "The shock hasn't set in yet."

"She's got it in for me, Jeri," Kazu said for about the hundredth time. "I can feel it!"

"Kazu, she didn't say a word to you," Jeri pointed out. "Professor Asaji never even called on you."

"Don't you see it, though?" Kazu argued. "She's playing mind games with me! She's trying to lull me into a false sense of security! She's out to get me!"

"Kazu, you're being silly," Jeri huffed.

"Yeah, I have to agree with Jeri," Ken added. "I don't think Professor Asaji noticed you."

"That's because she hasn't thought of what she wants to do to me yet," Kazu persisted. "You don't know Miss Asaji like I do! She lived to make my life miserable and she won't rest until she ruins my college life!"

Jeri shook her head. "You're overreacting. Only you would be this paranoid, Kazu."

"**KAZU**! She's back!"

TK saw Jeri shake her head again, because a blue-haired boy wearing glasses quickly ran up to Kazu, looking just as worried as he was.

"Don't tell me you have her, too!" Kazu wailed.

"She's my 1:00 PM!"

"**NOOOOOO**!!" both boys cried.

Jeri sighed deeply. "TK, Ken, I'd like you to meet Kenta."

Behind Jeri was a girl with red hair arranged in a ponytail that stood up. And she didn't look too happy. She looked rather exasperated, as if she had been putting up with Kenta's antics for a while now.

"Hey, Jeri. I'm guessing Dumb and Dumber are giving each other the news?"

"Oh you bet," Jeri sighed. "Rika, have you met some of our new friends? This is TK and that's Ken. TK, Ken, this is my other roommate, Rika."

Rika extended the hand of friendship, accepted by TK and then Ken. "It's nice to meet you." Rika eyed TK's white hat. "Nice hat. It's a good look for you."

"And it's nice meeting you, too," Ken said. "Kari hasn't told us about you yet."

Rika raised an eyebrow. "You two know Kari?"

Ken nodded. "Oh yeah. I'm her friend and TK's her..."

TK immediately shot Ken a cold stare. He didn't even want him to say that forbidden word.

Ken sweatdropped. "Uh... TK's... also her friend."

Rika maintained a serious demeanor. "I... see. Speaking of Kari... Jeri, shouldn't we be getting back to our room now? For... you know...?"

Jeri's face lit up. "Oh! Right! That! We should get going. It was nice meeting you guys! See you later!"

Rika and Jeri walked away, while Kazu and Kenta were still wailing away. Suddenly, the two boys noticed Rika and Jeri were gone and immediately ceased their whining.

Kazu sweatdropped. "Uh... we should go, too."

So did Kenta. "Yeah. See ya."

Kazu and Kenta walked off. TK and Ken just exchanged unsure glances. They didn't know what to make of this day so far, so they just both shrugged and headed back to the dorm.

"So, TK... about you and Catherine..."

* * *

Henry was in shock. "You're kidding, right?"

"I'm not kidding," Takato responded. "Yamaki's really one of the professors here. He's one of MY professors."

"Since when does Yamaki teach?" Henry asked.

"I thought it was weird, too," Takato admitted. "But I got a chance to talk to him earlier and I guess this is just the best way for him to walk away from all that government work."

"But do you really think Yamaki would just stop working for the government all of a sudden?" Henry pointed out. "Why would he just switch jobs?"

"So he got tired of the stress," Terriermon offered. "I know if I was a human working to try and stop the Devas and the D-Reaper, then I'd probably think of switching jobs, too. You agree with me, don't you, Guilmon?"

"I don't know," Guilmon said. "I can't think on an empty stomach. I'm hungry, Takato."

As if on cue, Takato's stomach growled. "That makes two of us. Maybe we should go get dinner."

"Okay."

Guilmon started heading for the door, but Takato immediately cut him off.

"And by 'we', I mean me and Henry. You're staying here."

"Okay, but bring me back something, Takato."

Henry waited by the door as Takato caught up to him. Henry would have dinner, but his thoughts were definitely elsewhere. He couldn't stop thinking about why Yamaki was here.

* * *

After getting back to the apartment, TK laid right on the couch with a bag of chips, ready to start his lounging, having gotten his first day of class over with. But he had to get used to knowing that he wouldn't get much alone time out in the living room. For one thing, there was Davis and Veemon on playing an intense game of Go Fish. Ken and Yolei were in the kitchen talking loving to each other. Wormmon was sitting in the single person chair not too far from TK was. And of course there was Patamon, who was sitting right by TK's head.

Things were still pretty quiet. At least until TK started hearing some arguing coming from the hallway, followed by a knock on their door.

"Who could that be?" TK asked.

TK walked over as the three Digimon froze and went into their stuffed animal act. He answered the door and found an old friend.

"Hey, college guys!"

"Cody!"

TK was happy to see his friend, Cody. And as happy as Cody looked to see them, there looked to be something bothering him as he looked down the hall.

"You know you don't have to keep following me anymore," he called out. "We're already here. Don't you have someone to meet?"

A girl suddenly walked up to Cody. "I can meet her in a little later. I wanted to meet your friends."

Cody sighed. "Guys, this is..."

Ken gasped and got to his feet. "ROSA?"

Yolei looked puzzled. "Rosa?"

Rosa gasped when she saw Ken. Her face immediately lit up and she rushed over to give him a big hug.

"Ken! Is it really you?!"

Ken nearly got toppled over. "Yes, it's me. Wow! You've really grown up!"

Rosa looked up and gave Ken a seductive glance. "So have you."

TK knew what this would lead to. And sure enough, he looked at Yolei and saw that she didn't like this girl's amorous tone.

Yolei cleared her throat. "Excuse me, but who...?"

Wormmon jumped in Rosa's arms, giving her a big hug, too. "Rosa!"

Rosa beamed. "¡_Gusano_!"

"It's been such a long time! How have you been?"

Davis scratched his head. "Does someone want to tell us what's going on?"

Yolei glared a hole into Ken. "Yes, Ken. Why don't you tell us what's going on?"

Ken sweatdropped. "Rosa? You want to tell this story?"

Rosa walked Ken over to the couch where TK was sitting. Ken sat on the couch, leaving Yolei alone in the kitchen.

"I'd be more than happy to. Ken and I met seven years ago..."

**GRRRRRRRR**

Rosa stopped in her tracks and everyone stared at Davis.

Davis sweatdropped. "Uh... I guess I'm pretty hungry."

"Then we should talk about Rosa and Ken over dinner," TK grinned. "Shall we?"

Yolei got up and headed for the door, making sure to shoot Ken one more glare. "I can hardly wait," she said dryly.

Davis followed right behind Yolei and Cody walked out behind them. TK was heading out, but not before he leaned near Ken's ear.

"And you were asking me about Catherine, huh?" he smirked.

Rosa got to her feet and led Ken out by the hand. "Come on, Ken. I'm sure we have LOTS to talk about."

TK chuckled. It looked like things were about to get interesting. Especially knowing Yolei ...

* * *

Puppetmon was starting to get impatient. He wanted to start playing his sinister games, but Datamon insisted on them taking things slowly, at least until they made contact with The Dark One. So Puppetmon waited as Datamon prepared another one of his machines, which was adjusted to The Dark One's frequency. It was a large supercomputer with a giant monitor.

And sure enough, Datamon made contact. On the supercomputer's huge monitor, there was a shadowy figure surrounded by darkness. Puppetmon couldn't see anything more than a shadow. One thing about The Dark One was that he was apparently _very_ hesitant about revealing his identity... for the moment, anyway.

"I see you haven't gone anywhere," Datamon began. "Nice to see you're still around."

"Enough of your banter," The Dark One bellowed. "Has that Digimon Empress begun using the Black Gears?"

"The Black Gears are a complete success," Datamon reported proudly. "I knew I could recreate Devimon's technology. Of course, with my superior intellect, I'm not surprised."

"So does this mean we have an army of Digimon ready to send to the human world?" The Dark One asked.

"Dozens of Digimon are at our disposal and ready to do our bidding," Datamon answered. "Thanks to my new Digital Gate generator, I can make a small Digital Gate, large enough to fit one Digimon to send to the human world. The only downside to it is that I can only send one Digimon at a time and it takes days to get the stupid thing operational again."

"I don't understand why we can't just go in ourselves," Puppetmon whined. "I wanna play NOW!"

"You'll have to excuse Puppetmon, Dark One. He's being childish because he has no patience."

"I am not the most patient one you'll encounter," The Dark One shot back. "I came to you, Datamon, because you are the very definition of the term 'evil genius' and you have the means to release me into the human world where I shall proceed to take over both worlds. And Puppetmon, you are here because you know how to deal with our main opposition. And also because you know about manipulating and pulling strings... as is the case with The Digimon Empress. You two were best suited for this task. Now how long will it take for you to release me? I am in a destructive mood!"

"Unfortunately, it will not be an easy process," Datamon replied. "I can create a machine to open a portal to... where did you say you were again?"

"The Dark Ocean!"

"Ooh, The Dark Ocean," Datamon muttered. "The Dark Ocean is one of the most mysterious domains in all of existence. To set a frequency there would be extremely difficult... but not impossible if I have the proper components. I will get to work immediately on a device that will bring you back. But in the meantime, we'll give the humans a welcoming committee... and hopefully thin out some of those infernal DigiDestined in the process."

"Remember our agreement," The Dark One warned. "You can destroy the rest of the DigiDestined, but the holder of the **Crest of Light** must stay ALIVE! When I get there, she is to be unharmed."

Puppetmon didn't understand that. He wanted to destroy ALL the DigiDestined, but for some odd reason, The Dark One wanted the Child of Light alive.

"And you remember _our_ agreement," Puppetmon responded. "I get to wipe out that little snot, TK, myself. I'll teach him not to play with Puppetmon! And don't forget that once you take over, I get all the humans in Japan to be MY personal playmates."

"That's right," Datamon added. "And remember what you promised _me_. Once you take over, you shall make me your second-in-command and I shall go down in history as the most intelligent being in all worlds!"

"I haven't forgotten our deal," The Dark One said dryly. "You shall have those rewards and more once I become the ruler of both worlds. But first, hold up your ends of the bargain and release me!"

Suddenly and without warning, the feed died and the monitor went blank. The Dark One had signed off.

"So NOW can we start playing?" Puppetmon whined.

"We can't send just any Digimon onto the battlefield," Datamon pointed out. "We must find a suitable candidate. And for that... let us go into the depths of our base."

Puppetmon laughed wildly. "It's almost playtime!"

Eager Puppetmon jumped out of his chair and headed straight for the lower chamber of the Server base. He wanted to pick a particularly destructive Digimon to send to the human world.

* * *

Terriermon sighed. "You know something, big guy? Maybe it's not so bad having you here. I mean, when Henry and Takato are out, I need someone to talk to."

"I feel the same way," Guilmon agreed. "I'm real hungry, though. How long have they been gone, Terriermon?"

Terriermon shook his head. "They've been gone for five minutes! Does the phrase '_Momentai_' mean anything to you?"

"Not when it comes to food," Guilmon grinned.

Terriermon couldn't believe his hungry friend. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to check the window and see if anyone was coming back. So he walked over to the window and looked outside. But he didn't see Henry or Takato.

Instead he saw another group of guys... including Ken, TK, and that goof, Davis. They were out of their room. And then he remembered what he was supposed to do.

It was time for the prank.

Terriermon rushed over and grabbed a small folded up banner and went back to the window. He opened the window and was about to jump out.

"Terriermon, where are you going?" Guilmon asked curiously. "I don't think Henry would want you to leave."

"Uh... this won't take long," Terriermon said. "I just have... something I have to do. Be right back."

Terriermon jumped out the window, landing behind the hedge outside the windowsill. And Terriermon headed down the path... towards Davis's window.

It was time for Terriermon to pull his first college prank.


	6. Pranks

The day continued to pass by quickly and Yamaki saw he wasn't making as much progress as he had hoped. In Odaiba University's teacher's lounge, he decided to go meet up with the rest of his colleagues and see if they had made any breakthroughs. And sure enough, he looked over at a nearby table and saw Riley and Talley both sitting there looking around.

Yamaki walked over to them. "Professor Ootori, Professor Onodera, how'd your first day go?"

"Very well,"` Riley responded. "The students show a lot of enthusiasm."

"I like my class," Talley smiled. "It's small. Nice and quaint. And… I have a Teacher's Aide."

"You get a TA?" Riley asked in shock. She crossed her arms and scowled. "I don't get a TA."

"He seems to show a lot of enthusiasm," Talley added. "But the most shocking thing happened! I started taking roll and I came across a couple of very interesting names. I came across Henry Wong and Kenta Kitagawa."

"Two of the Tamers?" Riley asked.

"I also have one of the Tamers in my class," Yamaki said. "Takato Matsuki is in my 8 o'clock College Writing class."

"You think they know anything about what's going on?" Talley wondered.

"This could all be a coincidence," Yamaki thought. "I'm not sure if they're aware of what's happening and I don't want to ask."

"Why not? They might be able to help us," Riley pointed out.

"We already have Yoshino on our arsenal, and I was hesitant about recruiting her in the beginning. But, I don't want to resort to using the original Tamers just yet," Yamaki shot back. "They can be powerful allies, but we don't even know what it is we're up against. Besides, I think we can flush out this mole ourselves. Any leads?"

Riley and Talley shook their heads.

Yamaki raised an eyebrow. "Really? No suspects at all?"

Riley and Talley shook their heads again.

Suddenly, one of the other female professors walked in. "Hello. I haven't seen you three here before. Are you new?"

Yamaki kept his cool, as any agent in his position would. "We're all in our first year. I am Professor Mitsuo Yamaki, English. This is Professor Talley Onodera, Computer Science. And this is Professor Riley Ootori, Chemistry."

The woman smiled. "My name is Dr. Ana Marquez, Mathematics. It's very nice to meet you."

"Very nice meeting you also," Yamaki replied. He decided to try and get some information as long as he was conversing with one of the other professors. "We weren't sure what to expect when we got here. We heard that there was some… unusual activity here on this campus."

"Why would you think that?" Dr. Marquez asked curiously. "I've never heard that."

"Just a rumor," Yamaki said casually. "You haven't seen anything unusual, have you?"

"Can't say I have," Dr. Marquez answered. "Unless you count that new Professor Norstein as something unusual, this is a pretty normal campus."

That got Yamaki's juices flowing. "What's so unusual about this Professor Norstein?"

Dr. Marquez's eyebrows rose. "You mean you haven't heard?" Yamaki and his two colleagues shook their heads. The math professor looked at them as if it was the most absurd thing in the universe that they haven't heard of this person. "He's some type of boy genius. He graduated from some VERY prestigious college in North America when he was only fourteen. He graduated high school when he was only twelve. Now, he has a job as a psychology professor here and he's only seventeen years old! When I first heard, I felt like it was an insult to my own intelligence. What self-respecting educational system would hire someone who is younger than his own students?"

Yamaki couldn't believe what he was hearing. All the research in the world couldn't have prepared for the revelation that there was some kind of boy genius on campus. And a professor at that!

"Oh, I lost track of time!" Dr. Marquez said hastily. "I would love to stay and chat, but I really have to be going. My daughter will be here shortly. In fact, she might be here by now. But it was nice meeting you."

With that, Dr. Marquez dashed off, leaving the undercover Hypnos crew alone at the table. Yamaki took out his phone in a hurry.

"About to make a phone call?" Riley asked as she dug her fork into the fruit salad she was eating.

Yamaki looked through what seemed like numerous contacts until he found who he was looking for. He pressed the call button and waited as the phone rang.

"_Hello_?"

"Yoshino, we may have our first suspect."

"_Good, because I don't have any leads so far. I'm not even moved in to my apartment, yet_!"

"Don't worry about that right now. I need you to see how many professors at this school that have the last names Norbert, Norway, Norstein, and Norman. I want to search the age groups between fifteen and twenty. **Do not go past 20**," Yamaki said, emphasizing the last sentence.

"_A 15-year-old professor? I don't think there is anyone here that young, sir_…"

"Yoshino, can you do that for me?"

"_Yes sir, immediately_!"

"Fax me your results."

"_Yoshino, out_!"

Yamaki hung up the phone and looked to see Riley and Talley looking at him skeptically. But, Yamaki wasn't worried about their opinions at the moment. He wasn't sure if this boy professor was indeed the mole, but he was positive about one thing.

He would flush out this mole.

* * *

Kari was hoping to get a look at the boys' room, but with the complication of Gatomon, she couldn't go the night before. Now was an even worse time, since she now had her first homework assignments. So all she could do was head straight up the stairs of her hall. While she was going up, though, she was practically knocked over by Matt, who was dragging Sora down like there was no tomorrow.

"Excuse me, Kari!"

Sora frantically tried to keep pace. "Matt! Slow down! You almost knocked me over!"

"Sorry, Sora! Just try to keep up!"

Kari shook her head and stayed silent. It would seem that Matt and Sora were going to be a bit preoccupied for the next couple of hours. Of course … It wasn't any of Kari's business what Matt and Sora did … as long as they were _responsible_. After that pleasant exchange, Kari continued up the stairs and walked back to her room.

After turning the key, Kari walked into her room and found the living area empty at first. But as she stepped inside, she heard someone shut the door behind her. Kari turned around to see Jeri and Rika both standing side-by-side … with smirks on their faces.

Kari sweatdropped. "You two look happy."

"Have a seat, Kari," Rika grinned as she sat Kari down on the sofa. "We have some … things we want to ask you. Things about yourself."

"But … I thought I told you a lot about myself," Kari said nervously.

"Oh you've said a lot," Rika said dryly. "Almost TOO much for my tastes. But there're still some things we want to ask you. Certain things … personal things."

Kari gulped as Jeri turned out the lights. Rika walked over and turned on one of the lamps, focusing the light on Kari. Kari felt like she was about to be interrogated … heavily. But about what, she had no idea. At first, she wondered if they had somehow discovered her secret, but that notion was just silly. How could they possibly find out she was a DigiDestined?

Kari sweatdropped. "Um … what do you want to ask me about?"

"We're curious about … your love life," Rika smirked.

Kari moaned. She would have rather they found out she was a DigiDestined. This was ten times worse. And it would only get more horrible if they pried … into her past.

"So … who was that I saw with you with in the cafeteria, Kari?" Jeri asked slyly. "Boyfriend?"

Kari gulped. "Boyfriend? No … he's not my boyfriend."

Technically, it was true. Kari had just agreed to go out with Davis on a date. She never said anything about him being her boyfriend. Besides … she was still getting over … TK.

"You looked like you were getting pretty close," Jeri persisted. "He looked like he was ready to put his arm around you."

"That's just the way he is," Kari said dryly. "He's … affectionate."

"So tell me about him," Jeri continued. "If he's not your boyfriend, then does that mean he's available?"

"**NO**!" Kari snapped. She may not have been his girlfriend, but that didn't mean Davis was available. "We're … actually going out on a date this Friday."

Jeri squealed. "You must be so excited! I mean … he certainly looks VERY cute."

Kari blushed. "Well … he IS pretty cute."

"**Jeri**!" Rika growled. "What's with this sudden interest in Kari's boyfriend? I thought you were with goggle head!"

Jeri blinked. "Me and Takato? Well … not really. Don't get me wrong. He's a great guy … but…"

"Let me guess," Kari cut in. "You don't want to ruin the friendship?"

Jeri nodded. "Exactly. Hey, how did you know that's what I was thinking?"

"Because I've gone through the same thing myself," Kari answered. "I know what you're going through, Jeri. This sort of thing is never easy."

"You could have fooled me," Rika scoffed. "You look like you're handling your love life like a pro."

"Don't mind her," Jeri said gently. "Rika isn't really the romantic type. She isn't really into the idea of a boyfriend. Unless… well… there may be ONE boy… _MMPH_!"

Rika covered Jeri's mouth. "If you know what's good for you, you WON'T mention _**his**_ name! I mean it, Jeri! I don't want to hear about _**HIM**_!"

Having issued her warning, Rika uncovered Jeri's mouth and walked towards the loveseat on the far side of the room. Jeri silently mouthed the word 'later' to Kari. Kari started to sense that Rika definitely had issues with a boy.

"I thought we were grilling KARI!" Rika pointed out. "How did this get turned around on me?"

"Why are you two grilling me?" Kari asked curiously.

"Because we're curious about your love life, Kari," Jeri grinned. "And it just got a little more interesting. What do you mean when you say you've been through the same thing I have?"

Kari sighed deeply. This was sure to open up old wounds. "I hope you guys have a lot of time on your hands, because this is a pretty long story."

"Wow … this is sounding pretty interesting," Jeri muttered. "I can't help but be a little curious."

"Save your curiosity for right now," Kari said dryly. "Maybe I can help you do that."

"How are you going to do that?" Jeri asked curiously.

"By changing the subject … to you and your friend, Takato," Kari grinned.

Jeri gulped and Rika couldn't help but smirk. Now the tables were turning again. Rika suddenly shifted the lamp's light so it was shining on Jeri. Jeri looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Yes, Jeri," Rika chirped. "Why don't you tell Kari about you and Takato?"

"Because there isn't anything to tell!" Jeri snapped.

"I've seen that look before," Kari noted. "He may not be your boyfriend, but you like him, don't you?"

"No!"

"Has this sort of thing ever even come up before?"

Silence. It took Jeri a while to think about that answer, but it looked like she had one and Kari was curious to learn something new about her roommate.

"Well … it was a long time ago … back when we were 13…"

* * *

_Night had fallen on West Shinjuku. Jeri certainly wasn't expecting to be sitting in the park by her friend, Takato, but it looked like the goggle boy was troubled. And Jeri wanted to be there to help._

_Takato was hanging his head down. "I've got this problem with my partner … I mean, my friend … my good friend. This friend has gone through a big change lately. I'm talking big change LITERALLY. My friend has grown a lot … and I mean A LOT a lot. And it's caused a whole bunch of problems, so I want things to go back to way they were before. What should I do?"  
_  
_Jeri didn't know what to think of this. "Takato … … hmm …"_

_Jeri was starting to get an idea of what was going on._

~* I bet Takato has a crush on a girl, but she got taller. And now he feels goofy next to her, so he wishes she were short again. That's so cute! I know just what he means. That growth spurt I just went through made me feel SO gawky … like everyone was staring … *~

_At that moment, Jeri figured it all out._

_"Wait! I get it!"_

_Takato turned to Jeri curiously. "Huh? You do?"_

_Jeri held up her puppet. "Jeri likes you, Takato! But only as a friend, ok?!" She pointed out into the vast street. "Don't worry! There's a MILLION other girls out there!"_

_Takato hung his head even lower and sweatdropped. "Uh … yeah … ok … Jeri … … thanks."_

_

* * *

_"We haven't talked about it much since then," Jeri continued. "Takato and I have always stayed friends. We've known each other for such a long time now. I wonder if he DOES like me …"

"Have you thought of saying something yourself?" Kari asked.

"Well … I haven't actually thought of that," Jeri answered. "I was hoping Takato would come to _me_ someday."

"Maybe you need to send some signals," Kari suggested.

"What do you mean?"

"We'll talk about it. If anything, we have the whole year to work on getting you and Takato together. But there's just one thing I need to know."

"What's that?"

"Well … I don't know ANYTHING about Takato. Maybe you should tell me a little more about him and the rest of your friends."

Jeri sat on the sofa beside Kari. Jeri sat comfortably next to each other and faced one another. Rika got up and started making her way towards her room; obviously sensing girl talk was imminent.

Just then, Zoë walked in the door, her face showing that her day had taken its toll on her. "Hey, guys," she said tiredly as she walked straight towards the kitchen and began raiding the pantry.

"Hey, Zoë," Jeri said as Kari waved to their roommate. Kari looked back over to Jeri, who had a look of sudden knowing for some reason. "Oh! Zoë, someone came by to look for you last night. I would've told you sooner, but this is my first time seeing you since you left last night," Jeri said as she followed the blonde to the other room.

"Someone came looking for me?"

"Yeah… some guy by the name Takuya."

Zoë's face had turned stone solid and her eyes seemed to have burned a whole in the bowl she was carrying. Kari swore that if she held on to the plate any tighter, it would shatter. Jeri must have noticed this too, because she became very wary about how she asked her next question. "Is something wrong?"

"Takuya came by here?"

"Uh … yeah."

"Did he tell you what he wanted?"

"No. He just had a big box with him … what's going on?"

Zoë immediately put the bowl down on the counter and walked back towards the front door. "Don't you worry your little heart over it, Jeri! Be back later!" Zoë walked out the door in a dash, leaving Kari and Jeri in a bewildered silence.

* * *

Looking inside the window, Terriermon knew EXACTLY what to do. This was the apartment where that Davis kid was staying, along with his friends TK and Ken. And just as he hoped, the inside of the living area was empty. There was no one around. The timing wasn't any better.

So Terriermon carefully opened the window and slowly crawled in. This was still an espionage mission, since anyone could come in at any time. But Terriermon saw that one of the doors leading into a private room was open. It wasn't Davis's room, of course, but it was a room to hide in if any passerby was to come in the apartment.

Once he was inside the living area, Terriermon scurried like a mouse in the night to the farthest room in the back of the house. He was positive that this was the Davis goof's room. Once he reached the door that would lead to the private room, he used one of his large ears to open the door, which was (conveniently) unlocked.

He opened the door to find one of the messiest rooms that he has come to encounter his years in the Real World. Clothes were thrown messily on the phone and empty plates were strewn under the bed. But there was the dresser, standing in the back of the room like nothing was about to go down between the long-eared Digimon and its owner. He treaded carefully and headed for the drawer… but he took a wrong step.

"YEOW!!"

The sudden cry of pain completely caught Terriermon off-guard and he fell over. He didn't know where it came from, but it came from underneath a pile of sheets. The long-eared Digimon looked over to see something rise out of the pile of sheets. It was a little blue & yellow Digimon about his size that kind of resembled a lion. The lion Digimon was blowing on his tail, which looked a little red.

"What's going on?" something else called out.

"What the…!" Terriermon gasped.

Terriermon looked over at one of the drawers to see a blue, tiny dragon come out. It was another Digimon. And when Terriermon looked over towards the window, he saw a third Digimon. This one looked like a green turtle with a small leaf coming out of his head.

"Hey! It's a Terriermon!" he shouted.

The lion Digimon shot Terriermon a cold glare. "GET HIM!!"

To say this was unexpected would be an understatement. Instead of accomplishing a simple prank, Terriermon now found himself… about to be chased. And Terriermon didn't wait, so he started running around the room, with one of his ears knocking the radio switch on.

_Storming through the party like my name was El Nino_

_When I'm hanging out drinking in the back of an El Camino_

_As a kid, was a skid, and no one knew me by name_

_Trashed my own house party, 'cause nobody came  
_

Terriermon ran towards the bedroom door, which was wide open from when he first opened. Unfortunately, he found himself cornered by another Digimon. This one was a small orange bird thing running on two feet. "Stop, thief!" the small bird cried as Terriermon jumped right over the bird's head and into the living area.

_Well, I know I'm not the one you thought you knew back in high school_

_Never going, never showing up when we had to_

_Attention that we crave_

_Don't tell us to behave_

_I'm sick of always hearing act your age_

Once he was out of the small bedroom, Terriermon made a mad dash for the window, but he was caught by one of the ears and fell backwards. The long-eared Digimon fell right on his back; he was caught by the small dragon Digimon. "HA! Got you now!" the Digimon said, a menacing look in his eyes. Terriermon could've sworn there would've been a scowl on his face if the Digimon had a mouth.

"**Bunny Pellets**!" Terriermon cried, shooting small green bullets from his mouth. The attack hit the small dragon square in the face, causing Terriermon to get loose and make a run for it. At that moment, however, the front door to the apartment swung wide open. It was a boy with short blue hair that looked extremely familiar to Terriermon, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Everything seemed to be still as the boy stared dead in Terriermon's eyes.

"What is going on here?" he asked, and the Terriermon felt an electric shock run up his ears and through his body.

_I don't want to waste my time_

_Become another casualty of society_

_I'll never fall in line_

_Become another victim of your conformity_

_And back down_

"**Guardian Jolt**!"

The small lion had electrocuted Terriermon and had temporarily stunned him. "Tigrismon, stop it!" the boy said as he walked up to the stunned Digimon. "He came to steal from us!" the orange bird Digimon said as they all circled around the stunned Terriermon.

"Where did he come from?" the blue-haired boy asked. All of the Digimon just kind of shrugged. Terriermon felt his left ear tingle, and knew that that the stun attack was about to wear off. He willed himself to move the other ear, and then his fingers, and then his toes …

The boy reached to lift up Terriermon, but once he even touched the Digimon's skin, Terriermon bit the boy's hand and made a mad dash for the open door.

"Oh no! Koichi are you okay?" the turtle Digimon asked as Terriermon made it through the door. He looked in the general area and saw a couple of people in the hallway, but he didn't have anywhere else to go, especially since the Digimon known as Tigrismon was right on his heels.

Terriermon heard a girl gasp as he made a sharp right and jumped down a flight of stairs. He heard a shriek and a slam. Terriermon looked behind him to see that the small Tigrismon was no longer giving chase. He smiled as he ran to the nearest door, opened it, and found himself staring at the most strangest sight.

He had ran into another apartment, which had a blue Digimon sitting down on the living room couch watching television and a worm looking thing napping on a couch. "Not again!" Terriermon cried as he moved towards the window. This caught the other two Digimon's attention.

The blue Digimon jumped up in surprise. "Hey, it's a Terriermon!"

Before any of the Digimon could react, Terriermon immediately attacked. "**Terrier Tornado**!"

Terriermon unleashed his attack, spinning around and becoming a whirling dervish. The blue Digimon was caught by surprise as Terriermon headed right for him. "Veemon, look out!" a small flying guinea pig Digimon cried out right before the tornado hit the blue Digimon. Instead, it got the flying guinea pig and slammed right on the wall.

Terriermon now thought he actually had a clear path to his only means of escape: the window. But when he tried heading over there, he got jumped by the little blue Digimon called Veemon, who now had a firm grip on Terriermon's arms.

"Do something, Wormmon!" Veemon shouted.

Wormmon leaped off of the couch and headed for the scene. "I got him, Veemon! **Sticky Net**!"

Terriermon acted in the blink of an eye. He pounded on Veemon's head with his right ear, loosening his grip. Terriermon was able to get loose and roll out of the way… while Wormmon's Sticky Net attack… ended up hitting Veemon. Veemon now found himself stuck to the wall.

Before heading to the window again, Terriermon armed himself. As he ran to escape, Terriermon knocked Wormmon aside with a hard pillow shot. With all three Digimon temporarily incapacitated, Terriermon was home free. He opened the window and started heading for his only exit. This attempted prank turned out to be a failure.

Before heading out the window, Terriermon looked back one more time. The small flying Digimon was still seeing stars from being knocked into the wall. Wormmon was trying to shake off the cobwebs from the pillow shot. And Veemon was struggling to get free; he was still stuck on the wall. There was no better time… for Terriermon to gloat.

The long-eared Digimon waved mockingly. "Momentai, losers! Better luck next time!"

Terriermon jumped out and headed back to his room. He didn't pull the prank like he hoped to, but he had plenty of fun with these other Digimon. But that was just the thing that was eating away at Terriermon.

What in the world is going on at this school? There are Digimon in just about every room! Could there be other Tamers here?

* * *

Koichi ran up to the person that Tigrismon had knocked down right by the stairs. Before the little lion Digimon could say anything, the Warrior of Darkness scooped up Tigrismon and covered his mouth with his hand. The girl that the Digimon had knocked over was a pretty girl with brown hair and a flawless face. He hurried up and thought up a quick lie in his head, but the girl looked at him like he was the strangest thing she's ever seen. She looked from Koichi to Tigrismon, whose eyes were closed in fear.

"Uh… [laughs] there is a perfectly good explanation for this, I swear," Koichi said as he helped the girl to her feet. The girl had such a serious look on her face that he wasn't sure if he should continue. She watched as some random boy passed by before saying anything. "Don't say anything out here in the open!" the girl said in a hushed voice. She looked around to see if anyone else was near them and continued, "What room do you stay in?"

Koichi wasn't sure how to take this. Hear he was trying to hurry up and give her an explanation as to why he was harboring animals in the building, and she was taking it much more calmer than he had hoped. "Umm … right down there—" before Koichi could finish his sentence, the girl pushed towards the room. "Show me! And hold him further down and closer to your body!" the girl instructed as she motioned for Koichi to show her to his room.

At first he was reluctant, but something told Koichi that she knew more than she was letting on. So they hurried into Koichi's apartment, which nobody was in at the moment except for the three other Digimon, who were all sitting on the couch waiting patiently. Once the girl saw the other three, she gasped in surprise. "There's more?!"

Koichi couldn't take it anymore. He had to ask the question that has been eating away at him. "Do you know what they are?"

The girl gave him a sideways glance, like she became suspicious of him all of a sudden. "Do _you_ know what they are?"

Now he felt like he was in a contest testing his intelligence. But, he had no idea what was going on or who this girl could be. "Who exactly _are_ you?" Koichi asked as the girl walked forward to the three other Digimon near the sofa.

That's when Takuya had walked in, his face about as worn out as Koichi was feeling. But, when he looked up and saw the scene that was being played out, his face had twisted into that of confusion and amusement.

"Koichi! What are you doing?!" Takuya asked loudly.

The girl stood up in surprise as Takuya quickly shut the door. Koichi wasn't sure what to say, seeing as how he had no idea what he had gotten himself into. "Will you be quiet? Do you live here?" the girl asked Takuya, who wasn't going to be as cooperative as Koichi.

"No I won't be quiet! Who are you and why are you in my room?!"

"I'm the one who's going to be asking the questions around here! You two could be in a lot of trouble if it wasn't for me!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"How did you two manage to get your hands on Digimon? Are you DigiDestined?" the girl asked the two boys, immediately ceasing all train of thought between anyone. Koichi had taken his hand off of Tigrismon's mouth, and Takuya's mouth hung wide open. The girl looked from boy to Digimon, ready for some type of answer. "Well?"

Koichi had no idea what to say, but he knew that things were about to be VERY different… .

* * *

Everyone was calmly having dinner as Rosa went over her past with Ken. Of course, that didn't mean everyone wasn't listening to Rosa's story with huge interest. Yolei, for example, didn't take her eyes off Ken and Rosa, listening intently. Davis wasn't aware of this encounter his best friend had seven years ago when the DigiDestined were traveling the world. Cody couldn't believe that this friend he just made a few weeks ago had a past with one of his friends.

And as for TK, he was just listening with a smirk. After all the questioning Ken was giving him about what happened between him and Catherine, it was nice to see that, even if just for the moment, the tables were turned.

After Rosa finished telling that story, Ken asked the obvious question. "Rosa, when did you leave Mexico?"

Rosa's face fell. "I guess that's kind of a long story, too. Maybe a year after you left, my parents were involved in a car accident. They both died and I was left alone. And it didn't take long for someone to adopt me. But I wasn't happy anymore. Life didn't seem the same to me. And then, one day, my new mother told me she took a job here in Odaiba, so we moved here when I was 14. I guess it was meant to be … because I really needed an opportunity to start fresh."

Ken was surprised to hear all that. "A lot's happened to you. I'm sorry you went through that."

Rosa beamed and leaned on Ken's shoulder. "It's ok, Ken. Ever since I came to Japan, life hasn't been so bad. And today … it just got a lot better."

TK knew what this would spark. And sure enough, when he looked Yolei's way, she looked like she was ready to explode. TK expected her to blow up any minute, but it wasn't happening just yet. She was keeping her composure for the moment.

"Hey! I see my Mom!" Rosa said cheerfully.

Rosa got up and walked over to a woman in a black dress and a long white lab coat. TK knew he had seen this woman walking around campus, but he didn't quite recognize her.

Rosa introduced everyone. "Mom, these are my new friends. Well, except for Ken. He's a friend I met in Mexico a long time ago."

The woman extended her hand to Ken. "It's nice to meet you all, especially you, Ken. I'm Dr. Marquez, Rosa's mother."

"Hey, now I remember you," TK chimed in. "My friend, Kari, has you for Calculus. My name's TK."

Dr. Marquez smiled. "Check your schedule, TK. You never know, because you just might also have me on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays."

TK sweatdropped. "That could be very true."

"Well, it was very nice seeing you," Dr. Marquez said. "I wish I could stay and get to know you all a little better, but I really should be getting back to my office. Come along, Rosa."

Rosa was about to catch, but she walked over to Ken and gave him a big hug. "Bye, Ken! I'm sure I'll see you again. And I can't wait."

Rosa caught up to her mom and they both left. TK took this opportunity to look over at Yolei again. And it looked like she had about all she could take. She picked up her tray and started walking out.

"Yolei? Where are you going?" Ken asked obliviously.

"Back to my room," Yolei huffed. "Give me a call, Romeo."

Ken looked over at Davis. "What was that all about?"

"Sometimes I don't understand girls," Davis replied. "Especially Yolei."

"You don't think she's getting jealous, do you?" Cody asked.

"I don't know," Ken said slowly.

TK just watched this whole exchange without saying a word, but suddenly he got a tap on the shoulder.

"Bonjour, TK."

TK turned around and taken by surprise when he saw the beautiful Catherine right in front of him. "Uh … um … hi there."

"I didn't know I just missed Yolei," Catherine sighed. "It's a shame, because I was hoping we could all eat together. But … I'd better catch up to her."

TK couldn't take his eyes off Catherine as she grabbed her bag of food and headed out, following Yolei. But suddenly, she did a 180 and came back to the table.

"You know something, TK? We haven't really had a chance to talk … alone. I'd like to have some time with you to … you know … catch up on old times. You want to get together sometime? Maybe … for dinner?"

TK didn't know how to respond to that. Here was a beautiful girl right in front of him, wanting to get to know him a little better. She was actually asking him out. In some circles, this could be interpreted as a date. He never thought he'd ever have such a girl interested in him. He just wondered what Kari would think. Then he looked across the table and remembered something.

Kari was going out with Davis on Friday night. TK couldn't forget that he and Kari broke up. It didn't matter what she thought. He no longer had to take her into consideration anymore.

"Sure, why not?" TK smiled. "How about this Saturday night?"

Catherine beamed. "I can't wait!" She kissed him on the cheek and started walking away. "I'll see you then, TK."

TK blushed a bright red … and suddenly noticed that the guys had all stopped talking about Ken and Rosa … and were now looking right at him. TK turned his head to see Davis, Ken, and Cody all looking his way … in utter shock.

TK blinked. "What?"

* * *

Tai was finally getting back after doing a lot of thinking. He had cleared his head and he was feeling a lot better. But he still wasn't feeling much younger. As time went on, Tai was wishing he were ten years old again. But he was an ancient … 22 years old. Tai was feeling like an old man.

He couldn't shake off the thoughts of aging from his head as he approached his door. Right now, Tai just wanted to get back to his room and get some sleep.

Tai calmly inserted his key and turned the knob. He walked into his apartment and saw a sight he just didn't need to see at that moment. He saw Matt on top of Sora, his shirt off and unbuttoning Sora's. The two of them were kissing wildly and Tai knew what they were intending on taking it. Matt looked up, his lips still locked with Sora's, and looked over at Tai … who was looking on with an exasperated look on his face.

"Uh … can't you two take that in your room?" Tai asked dryly.

"Sorry, couldn't make it that far,'" Matt smirked.

Sora punched Matt on the shoulder. "Ugh, get off of me!" Sora got up and walked up to Tai, buttoning his shirt back up in the process. Tai's best friend had a look of concern on her face. "Tai … Matt told me why you went out. Do you want to talk about it?"

Tai shook his head. "No … I just need … to think about some stuff … alone."

Sora wasn't convinced and kept trying to pry. "Tai … do you really feel … … old?"

Tai sighed deeply. "It's not just that I'm getting older. It's … … look, just leave me alone for right now, ok? We'll talk later."

Tai didn't even wait for a response, but he headed for his room. Unfortunately he could feel Matt and Sora's eyes on him as he turned his back towards them. Sora placed a hand on his shoulder to try and get him to stop. "Tai, come on talk to me," she said, a pleading look on her face.

"Tai, you're being an idiot!" Matt growled.

"I am not!" Tai shot back. "I bet you if I searched my head, I could find a whole bunch of gray hair!"

"Tai, we don't have that long," Matt joked.

Tai slumped his shoulders down even further and continued on towards his room while Sora punched Matt in the arm.

"OW! Well he asked for it. That joke was RIGHT THERE!"

"Matt, don't you see how serious this is?" Sora chided.

"You think this is _serious_?" Matt asked skeptically. "Come on, Sora! He's 22! That's not even close to old!"

"But this is obviously bothering him!" Sora pointed out. She walked in Tai's room and sat on his bed, where he was looking up at the ceiling fan go round and round again. She ran a finger through his large hair. "Tai … please talk to me. I'm worried about you. And Matt's worried about you, too."

Matt scoffed, until Sora shot him a cold stare.

"I feel like time's just going by too fast," Tai sighed. "I don't know where my life has gone and where it's going. I'm not a kid anymore … but I wish I was. I want to be young again."

Matt groaned. "Newsflash, Tai! You _are_ young!"

Sora tossed a pillow at Matt. "Will you shut up?!" She refocused on consoling Tai. "Aw Tai … you poor thing. This is really troubling you, isn't it?"

Tai nodded. He was practically in tears. "I … I need to take another walk. Besides … you two probably want to be alone."

Matt perked up. "Ok!"

Sora let out an exasperated sigh. "Tai don't listen to him. Please don't go. We're worried about you."

"No, Sora, please. I need to be alone."

Tai walked up to the door and walked out without even looking back. He really needed some alone time to think about everything.

* * *

Matt just sat on Tai's bed as his troubled friend walked out. He knew this whole situation was beyond ridiculous and if Tai wanted some time alone to pout, then so be it. He wasn't about to stop him. But to his surprise, when the door closed, Sora turned around and looked angrily at him.

"Some friend _you_ are!" Sora spat. "He needs us right now and you aren't doing ANYTHING to help!"

"What?! You can't tell me you're taking this seriously, Sora! He's 22 years old! How can be feeling old right now?!"

Sora just shook her head. "You know, for someone who holds the **Crest of Friendship**, you aren't being much of a friend right now. I'll see you later, Matt."

Matt got to his feet. "Sora, wait!"

Sora didn't listen. She just walked out the door and slammed it behind her. Matt just threw his hands in the air, unable to make any sense of this. It's like the world was going crazy.

"What did *I* do?!"

* * *

Terriermon rushed back to his room as fast as he could and jumped in through the open window. He shut the window and the curtains, panting exhaustedly the whole time.

"Terriermon?"

"AAH!"

Terriermon was startled when he heard a voice. But he turned around to see that it was only Guilmon. Terriermon jumped off Henry's bed and ran up to the big red lizard.

"What's the matter, Terriermon?" Guilmon asked. "You looked like you've seen a ghost."

Terriermon tried to compose himself. "D-D-D-Digimon! There are DIGIMON here! Loads of them!"

"What are you talking about? Terriermon, where did you go?"

"Those three guys are Tamers! That TK… and that Ken… and that goof, Davis! They're TAMERS! They had Digimon in their room!"

"How do you know?"

"Because I saw them! I was in their room! There were four of them!"

"Terriermon, what were you doing in their room?"

Terriermon frowned. "Are you just going to stand there and give me the third degree? Don't you understand what I'm saying? There are OTHER DIGIMON here! And then when I ran into another room, there were even MORE Digimon in that one! Guilmon, something is wrong with this school!"

"What should we tell Takato and Henry?" Guilmon asked.

"We can't tell them anything right now," Terriermon pointed out. "We have to wait until they come back. But I hope they come back soon."

As if on cue, the front door opened. Henry and Takato both walked in and Terriermon wasted no time in running up to them.

"Henry! Henry! I have to tell you something!"

Henry instantly grew concerned with the urgency in his partner's voice. "What is it?"

Terriermon led Henry to the couch. "Sit down for this one…"

* * *

After leaving Rosa with her mom, the group started thinning out. Cody needed to get back home, so he left. Yolei went back to her room with Catherine right behind her, still looking a little miffed at this day's turn of events. That left Davis with his two roommates, Ken and TK. Ken wouldn't stop questioning TK about what happened in The Den while Davis just stayed silent. Davis could imagine why this would bother Ken, but it didn't bother him at all. After all, it was Davis who was going out with Kari now. Ken just needed some more time for that to sink in. TK needed to move on and there was no time like the present. Especially with someone as attractive as Catherine. Davis felt happy for him.

Finally, they got to their apartment. Davis opened the door, but when he walked in to see that the room was practically in shambles, he nearly dropped his jaw. It looked like a tornado had hit.

Davis turned to TK. "TK, please close the door."

TK closed the door. Once the door was closed …

"VEEMON!"

"Over here, Davish."

Davis heard Veemon calling him, so he walked over and saw that the little blue Digimon… was stuck to the wall. He had a net keeping him attached to the wall. Davis knelt down and pulled the net off, loosening Veemon.

"Ooh, thanks Davish."

"Veemon, what happened?"

Veemon didn't even get to give an answer before Patamon flew over to TK.

"TK! There was a Digimon in here! A Terriermon!"

"He just busted through the front door and started attacking us," Wormmon added. "He was too fast for us, Ken. He went out that window."

"How could a Terriermon get in here?" Ken asked Davis and TK.

"I have no idea," TK replied. "How and WHY would a Terriermon just come in like that? And why wasn't the door locked," TK asked turning towards Davis.

Davis laughed sheepishly before saying, "Maybe someone's seen him," Davis thought. "Why don't we go ask around?"

"And what are we supposed to say?" TK pointed out. "Hey, have you seen a walking dog-rabbit thing around?"

"Now wait, TK, maybe that IS a good idea," Ken said. "We can ask some of the others if they've seen anything weird."

"I just feel a little silly asking around," TK noted. "But if we're going to ask, let's start with Takato and Henry. I think the rest of the hall's out to dinner anyway."

"TK, let me come, too!" Patamon pleaded. "If you set me by the window, maybe I can find it."

TK was about to refuse. "Patamon …"

"Hey, that's a good idea," Veemon cut in. "And Wormmon and I can guard the room in case he comes back."

"It's not a bad idea, TK," Davis added. "Let's take Patamon with us and see if he finds anything."

TK begrudgingly gave in. "Ok, but you have to stay still, Patamon. If you see that Terriermon just wink at me or something."

Patamon perched himself on TK's shoulder. Davis was expecting to start on his homework at this hour, but it looked like that wouldn't happen right now. Now the three guys went on a hunt for a Terriermon and it was time to ask questions. And first they would ask… Takato and Henry.

Davis sweatdropped. "Uh, TK? Maybe I should let YOU open the door."

* * *

Terriermon panted after giving his long-winded explanation. "And that's the story. There are seven other Digimon here and four of them belong to those guys. TK, Ken, and Davis are Tamers!"

"But it can't be," Takato said skeptically. "There were only EIGHT Tamers total. And I thought they hadn't heard of Digimon out here in Odaiba."

"But what if they were lying?" Henry pointed out. "What if there ARE other Tamers out here? For all we know, one or two of them might have been responsible for the Highton View Terrace incident." Henry suddenly shifted his gaze to Terriermon. "But I just have one question, Terriermon. Why were you in their room to begin with?"

Terriermon sweatdropped. If he told Henry the truth, he'd be busted for sure. Henry would NOT be happy if he found out Terriermon had gone out to pull a prank. But there was no hiding it anymore. For one thing, he couldn't think of a good lie. So there was no use attempting to hide it.

"Well… the thing is…"

But before Terriermon could confess, someone knocked on the door. "Takato? Henry? It's me, Davis."

Terriermon ran over to the window and froze like a stuffed animal. Guilmon headed over towards the closet and went into his stuffed animal act. And Takato… instinctively stood clear of the door.

"Ok, NOW you can open the door," Takato grinned.

Terriermon wished he could turn around and face the doorway and see these Tamers, but he was stuck facing the wall. If he turned his head, he would expose himself. So Terriermon stayed frozen…and hoped for the best.

* * *

Patamon was stuck on TK's shoulder, but not for too long. TK walked over to the windowsill and placed the little Digimon on the nearby couch. And with that, the guys were ready to begin some questioning.

"So how did your first day of class go?" TK asked, starting everything off with some small talk.

"Just a load of homework," Henry said almost nervously.

"Yeah, you should know all about it, right Davis?" Takato added. "After all, we got the same College Writing class."

"Oh yeah," Davis replied. "A whole load."

"You know, we came here because… of a rumor," Ken began. "Did you guys here of a little creature running around campus? It has long ears, kinda looks like a dog but has ears like a rabbit?"

"Oh… uh… no," Henry said slowly. "That sounds… kinda silly. How would a thing like THAT get on this campus?"

Patamon knew the guys were getting into their interrogation, but it all turned out to be unnecessary. His eyes widened when he saw that the Terriermon in question… was standing right by the windowsill facing the wall. Patamon knew TK wanted him to stay perfectly still, but he couldn't forget that this Terriermon knocked him silly with his Terrier Tornado attack. Patamon wanted some payback and there was no better time to get it. So while TK, Davis, and Ken were still asking questions, Patamon slowly crept over towards the Terriermon. The Terriermon had his back turned and didn't hear Patamon coming at all. And once Patamon was so close to him… so close that he was practically breathing down his neck… he inhaled deeply and …

"**BOOM BUBBLE**!"

Patamon unleashed his Boom Bubble attack. The long burst of wind sent the screaming Terriermon crashing right into the wall. The Terriermon staggered around dizzily, fell over, and lost consciousness.

Henry suddenly gasped. "Terriermon!"

Henry ran over to the Terriermon's aid, but things didn't end there. Patamon turned around and suddenly saw that the big red lizard stuffed animal in the corner came to life. It wasn't a stuffed animal at all. It was also a Digimon. It growled furiously and inhaled deeply, getting ready to attack Patamon. Takato gasped and ran towards the big red lizard.

"Guilmon, NO!"

Takato tackled the lizard, known as Guilmon, and both fell to the ground. Patamon realized that he had nearly been attacked… and in a matter of seconds …

… EVERYTHING changed.

Everyone stayed silent… and everyone looked at each other. Davis looked at Takato, then at Guilmon. TK and Ken looked at Henry, then at the unconscious Terriermon in his arms. Henry looked over at TK, then at Patamon. Takato looked up at Patamon, then at Henry. And then… someone else came through the hall.

"What's going on here?"

Silence. Everyone slowly turned their heads towards the door and soon they all had their eyes on the guy at the door. No one dared break that silence… except for Patamon, who waved cheerfully.

"Hey, Tai!"

Tai Kamiya looked inside the room… and sweatdropped. "I'm getting too old for this."

* * *

Impmon sat by the sidewalk. He wanted to keep going, but there was one thing holding him back.

"I'm tired, Impmon. Are we almost there?"

Impmon turned around to see that Calumon had stopped walking and sat down to rest his weary legs. Impmon sighed and walked over to the little one.

"We can't stop here, Calumon," Impmon told him. "Will you look around? We're in the middle of nowhere."

It was true. Impmon and Calumon were standing in the middle of an open road. There was nothing surrounding them except for dirt. But Impmon had a feeling that this would lead them to the place they were looking for. He didn't know for sure, but either way, even if he didn't find the right place, at least it'd be a chance to start a new life.

Suddenly, Impmon noticed a pickup truck that was pulled over to the side of the road. A large man was on the payphone next to it.

"Yeah, I got everything you need. **…** Uh-huh. **…** Yeah, I should in Odaiba by tomorrow morning. **…** Absolutely! You just have my money ready."

A light bulb lit up over the mischievous Impmon's head. He grabbed Calumon by the hand and started running towards the truck.

"Come on, Calumon! We're hitching a ride!"

Impmon picked Calumon up and tossed him in the back of the pickup. Impmon climbed over and got inside the truck as well. A few seconds later, he could feel the truck was starting and soon enough, the truck was moving.

"So where are we going, Impmon?" Calumon asked.

"I'm hoping this truck will get us to the right place," Impmon said. Then he flashed a mischievous grin. "And if it does … then we're gonna have LOADS of fun!"


	7. Memories

Tai couldn't believe what he was seeing. He was looking into a room with five guys and Patamon, yet that wasn't all. That Henry guy had a fainted Terriermon in his arms and that Takato guy was holding down a big red lizard. To say this was shocking scene would be an understatement.

"Does anyone have anything to say?" Tai asked the whole group.

"Um… this isn't what it looks like?" Davis grinned.

TK just shook his head and kept his mouth shut. Patamon calmly flew over into his arms.

Tai closed his eyes and tried to think of a way to deal with this unexpected situation. There was so much he wanted to know about these kids… yet he couldn't just come out and ask. Not without some of the others present.

"Ok, you guys sit tight," Tai said. "I'll be right back. DO NOT go anywhere… and don't let those Digimon go anywhere, either."

Tai shut the door and headed back to his room. Wait 'til Matt hears about this!

* * *

After the initial shock wore off, TK was ready to ask the big question. "You guys have Digimon?"

But TK and Henry both asked that question at the same time, so there was a moment of silence. They didn't know what to say. So it was Takato who asked the next question.

"That Digimon in your arms… then it's true! Does that mean you guys are… Tamers?"

Davis blinked. "Tamers? What's a Tamer?"

"If you have a Digimon, then you HAVE to be a Tamer."

"Not unless we're DigiDestined," Davis replied. "Are _you guys_ DigiDestined?"

"DigiDestined?" both Takato and Henry repeated.

Takato looked over at Henry."I've heard of DigiDestined!"

"But I didn't think they were real," Henry responded. "I thought those were just stories. Does this mean… DigiDestined are real?"

"Maybe you guys can answer some of our questions," Ken cut in.""What's a Tamer?"

Takato looked over at Henry again. "How are we going to explain all this?"

The red lizard suddenly spoke up. "I'm sure you'll come up with something, Takato. But as long as I'm not hiding anymore, I'm hungry."

The Terriermon suddenly started moaning. He opened his eyes. "Henry? I feel like I got hit by a truck. What happened?" He then looked around to see TK, Davis, Ken, and Patamon. "Uh oh!"

"That's for throwing me into the wall!" Patamon cried. "Payback's a—"

"PATAMON!" TK snapped before Patamon even finished. "What have I told you about that word?"

"Sorry, TK."

The Terriermon didn't look happy. "Payback?! You hit me from behind, you little pig! You want to come down here and try that to my face?!"

"I'd be glad to!" Patamon huffed.

The Terriermon leaped onto his feet and Patamon flew down. Both Digimon were in each other's face, snarling as they tried to stare each other down. The tension was so thick, it could be cut with a knife. TK knew he had to stop this, so he went over to pick up Patamon. Henry picked up his Terriermon as well.

"Let me go, Henry!" the Terriermon growled. "I can take him!"

"Let me at him, TK!" Patamon cried. "I'll show him who the pig is!"

TK held onto Patamon as tightly as he could. Then he and Henry exchanged a troubled and confused glance.

TK summed it all up. "I guess there are some things we _don't _know about each other."

* * *

Tai rushed back to his room. He opened the door and noticed the only one there was Matt, who was scowling on the couch.

"Well if it isn't the senior citizen," Matt muttered bitingly. "I hope you know that Sora left because of you, Tai. What do you want now? You want to check for wrinkles?"

"Hmm… good idea. I'll do that later, though," Tai answered. "Matt… we have a situation. Call Izzy and Joe. We need them here."

"For what? What happened?"

"Matt, maybe you should sit down for this one."

"Tai, I am sitting down."

"Oh… well, ok, good. Matt… RA… we have Digimon here."

"Of course we have Digimon here. Didn't TK, Davis, and Ken bring theirs?"

Tai shook his head. "No, Matt. I mean… we have **DIGIMON** here."

**SILENCE**

Matt suddenly realized what Tai was saying. "WHAT?!"

Tai reached over and handed the phone to Matt. "Call… Izzy and Joe! I have an idea. Wait here while I go get Sora and Mimi."

While Matt just held the phone up with a puzzled look on his face, Tai ran out of the room and headed for the stairs. The girls needed to know about this too. But, before Tai made it up the first flight of stairs, his cell phone began ringing. He took it out of his pocket and saw that the caller ID said Mimi and her picture came up. Tai picked it up.

"Mimi! Just the person I wanted to talk to! Listen, we have—"

Tai was cut off by Mimi, who was sounding just as urgent as he was feeling. "_Wait_, _Tai_! _I kind of have a situation on my hands_…"

Tai shook his head in frustration. "Whatever it is, it's gonna have to wait! Mimi we have—"

"_No, Tai, it can't wait_!"

Tai had completely stopped running, not knowing how to take his friend's outburst. "What's wrong, Mimi?"

"_It's… Digimon_."

**SILENCE  
**  
"Where are you?"

"_I'm on your floor in apartment #928_."

"I'll be right there!"

Tai hung up and did a complete turnaround as he headed back down the steps. He had a funny feeling that things were going to get a lot worse before they got any better.

* * *

After about an hour of conversation, Kari felt like she and Jeri were really beginning to connect. And Kari liked hearing about Jeri and Rika's friends. In particular, the whole past Jeri and Takato seemed to have shared was really intriguing. Kari felt like she could relate.

"So do you think you'll tell him how you feel?" Kari asked.

"No, I think I'm gonna go with what you said earlier, Kari," Jeri sighed. "Maybe it's better if I don't ruin the friendship right now. I should probably take it slow."

"That's usually the best thing," Kari smiled. "You have all year, Jeri. And take it from someone with personal experience, the best things come to those who wait."

"Ahem…" Rika cut in. "Speaking of personal experience… Jeri, I believe somewhere along the way, you completely lost the point of this whole interrogation. We were supposed to be grilling **Kari**, not **you**!"

Jeri thought about that. "You know, I believe you're right. Kari, we meant to ask about _your_ love life."

Kari blinked. "Well… what do you want to know?"

"How far along are you and Davis?" Jeri asked.

"He's not my boyfriend or anything. We're just going out on a date tomorrow night."

"So I'm guessing you don't like him in that way?" Jeri guessed.

Kari briefly hesitated. "I'm… not sure. He's a very sweet guy and he's just got this… certain charm. I'm not really sure what my feelings for him are. I'm hoping things will be a little clearer after tomorrow night."

"Has he always been a total klutz?" Rika asked.

Kari sweatdropped. "I wouldn't say a TOTAL klutz. He may not be the smartest guy in the world, not by a long shot. But he's a great guy. He just… tends to be a bit clumsy."

"Takato tells me Davis has had about five or six accidents with him," Jeri pointed out.

Kari sweatdropped again. "Ok, he can be VERY clumsy. But that's just his way. He doesn't mean anything by it. I've known him for most of my life and I can tell you that he has a good heart."

"Oh, I get it," Rika said. "You and Davis have the same thing Jeri and Takato have. I'm guessing you two only have eyes for each other?"

Kari frowned. "Actually… no. There's… someone else. Well… there was someone else."

"And who might that be?" Jeri asked curiously.

"One of my dearest friends," Kari replied. "His name's TK."

Jeri gasped. "I just met TK today. He seems like such a nice guy."

Kari nodded. "He really is. You know, the funny thing is that Davis and TK are really good friends right now… but it wasn't always like that. Back when I was like 11 or 12, they would both compete for my affections. They both wanted to have my heart. And although they were friends back then, whenever it came to me… it was war. And they would… and often DID just about ANYTHING… no matter how insane."

Rika inched her chair closer. "Ok, NOW things are getting interesting. Tell us everything."

"Yeah, we're curious, Kari," Jeri added.

Kari sweatdropped a third time. Never in her life did she ever think she would be telling anybody those crazy stories of Davis and TK competing for her heart. But Rika and Jeri seemed legitimately intrigued.

Kari sighed. "Well…"

**I remember what happened around Christmastime, like six years ago [chuckles]. I've got to admit, I wasn't into Davis that much. In fact, I used to think he was pretty obnoxious. But I'll say this much. He was persistent… and creative. I remember what happened when I walked into the coffee shop that day**…

_Kari walked into the coffee shop, but found the one person she hoped she wouldn't find. There was Davis and he still had that mistletoe hanging over his head. Davis started coming her way while Kari could only try to escape. She turned and tried to open the door, but she was stumbling over herself. She couldn't get the door open. And soon, it was too late. Davis was right behind her with a big grin on his face._

"_Hey, Kari!"_

_Kari turned to face him. "Oh… hi, Davis."_

"_So… I know the holidays are coming up. Notice anything… on my head?"_

_Kari looked up… and smiled. _

"_What? A bent coat hanger?"_

_Davis looked up… and frowned. "My mistletoe! Where is it? It's __**GOOOOOOOONE**__!!!"_

_Kari giggled. "Davis, you weren't actually crazy enough to walk around town with a mistletoe hanging over your head, were you?"_

_Davis blinked. "Maybe. But now it's LOST! NOOOOOOOOO!!!"_

_Kari grinned. "Better luck next time."_

_Davis looked disappointed that he didn't get to kiss Kari under the mistletoe. Kari was just relieved and was still surprised at his brashness. Suddenly, it looked like Davis had an idea. In the blink of an eye, he ran out of the coffee shop. Kari giggled, knowing that the gears in his twisted head were probably_ turning again. _But now that she dodged this bullet, she walked over to TK, who was waiting for her by one of the tables._

"_Are you telling me he came in here not knowing he lost his mistletoe?" Kari asked._

"_Not exactly," TK answered. "He had it when he came in. But he just lost it."_

"_How could he just lose it?" Kari wondered._

_She pondered that while TK got behind her._

"_Maybe someone just picked it off his head."_

_Kari suddenly realized something. She looked above her… and saw mistletoe. It was Davis's mistletoe… and TK was holding it above them. Kari turned around and saw TK smiling warmly._

_TK blushed nervously. "Sometimes… I LOVE Christmas tradition."_

_Kari blushed a crimson red… before giving TK a kiss on the lips. "Me, too."_

_TK looked like he just melted. He blushed a rosy red and a huge smile spread on his face. Kari smiled, too. If there was anyone she was willing to give that kiss to, it was TK._

Jeri squealed. "So was that your first kiss, Kari?"

"Well, not really," Kari replied. "I don't consider it to be. It was just a quick peck. But I'll get to my first kiss later. There was a lot more that happened that year… and a lot of it involved both Davis and TK competing for me. You see, around that Christmas, TK just saw and treated me like a friend. But sometime after he and I came back from a vacation, TK began to want something more than friendship. And that's when it started."

"What?" Rika asked.

Kari sighed. "The war… for me."

**A few days after TK and I came back from that vacation, that's when the whole war started… but I was completely oblivious to it. It all started with Christmas Eve. And Davis wanted to get a step ahead of TK by pulling a crazy stunt. Boy, I'll never forget THAT night.**

_Kari was lying in bed, trying to get some sleep. Christmas Eve was going by so slowly and she was just trying to get some sleep. She did feel pretty tired and she couldn't wait for the best day of the year to come. But suddenly… the family's security system went off. Kari sat up in an instant. A bunch of thoughts ran through her head. Was her family being robbed on Christmas Eve?_

_Kari saw her mom rush out of her room and head for the control panel. Obviously there was no one out there, because Kari's mom was able to turn the security system without incident. Still feeling a little worried, Kari got to her feet and decided to go investigate along with her mother and older brother._

"_What was that?" Kari's older brother, Tai, asked._

"_Something must have set the alarm off," their mom answered. "That's the second time that alarm's gone off this week. It must be defective or something. I'll have to call the company in the morning."_

"_Um… is it open on Christmas morning?"_

"_Oh, that's right. I'll call them AFTER Christmas, then. Let's just go to sleep."_

_After that false alarm, Kari's mom and Tai began to head off to bed. But Kari suddenly heard a rustling come from outside. She stood still._

"_Hey, Kari? Aren't you going to sleep?"_

"_Um… I'll be right there," Kari answered. "Just go on without me, Tai."  
_  
_Tai went off to bed. Kari didn't know why she didn't say anything, because she sensed someone was outside. So she grabbed a nearby flashlight and walked towards her front door. Still in her pajamas, Kari opened the door and turned on the flashlight, directing it towards the bushes._

"_I know someone's out there! Who's out there?"_

_Suddenly, a kid in a Santa suit was pushed out of the bushes and into the light. Kari didn't recognize him at first. But the goggles on his head immediately gave him away. It was painfully obvious who this was._

"_Davis?"_

_Davis looked like a deer caught in the headlights.""Um… Ho Ho Ho?"_

"_What… are you WEARING?!"_

_Davis grinned sheepishly. "I wanted to give you your Christmas present in a special way. So I decided to be your Santa Clause."_

_Kari couldn't believe it. "… … … … … Unbelievable. Only __**YOU**__, Davis. I can't believe you went this far!"_

"_That wasn't all," Davis continued. "I went all out this year. I even had my own little elf. And he's right in those bushes."_

_That made Kari a little curious. So she pointed her flashlight at the bushes. There was a boy in an elf costume. Then Kari gasped when she started to recognize him. At first, she didn't believe it, because she could never picture him doing such a thing._

"_Oh my… … CODY?! Is that…? Oh…"_

_Indeed, it was nine-year-old Cody Hida… wearing an elf's costume. This sight brought a smile to Kari's face and she started giggling. The giggling soon turned to all-out laughter and, seconds later, Kari was rolling on the floor in laughter._

_Cody wasn't taking this with such good humor. "WHAT'S SO FUNNY?!"_

_Kari couldn't even give him an answer because she was laughing so much. But pretty soon, there was someone joining her. She looked over… and saw that TK had just arrived with a gift in his hand. And he was also laughing out loud._

_Davis spotted TK. "Hey! What are YOU doing here?!"_

"_BESIDES laughing at me?" Cody added._

_TK dried a tear from his eye and held his laughter. "I'm sorry, Cody. I came to deliver this to Kari."_

_Davis went ballistic. "WHAT?! At THIS hour?!"_

"_It's only midnight," TK pointed out. "I wanted to give this to Kari the minute the clock struck Christmas, so she could open it."_

_Kari beamed. "TK… that is SO sweet of you."_

_Davis's jaw dropped open. "HUH?! What about ME?!"_

_Kari ignored Davis's whining and opened the present. "Oh, TK… a new camera. It's the one I was looking at the other day at the mall. Thank you so much!"_

_Kari leaned over and gave TK a kiss on the cheek… much to Davis's chagrin. Kari couldn't believe how wonderful this night turned out. She had a smile that would need to be surgically removed._

_"Thank you all so much. But I'd better get some sleep. I think Tai's wondering why I haven't gone to bed yet. So… I'll see you all tomorrow. Merry Christmas!" _

_Kari turned around and walked back into her house, closing the door behind her. She examined her new digital camera, wondering how it worked. More than anything in the world, she wanted to test it out and see if it worked. Then she got an idea. She turned around and opened her door again. Luckily, Davis and Cody were still out there. So she aimed her camera… and took a picture. The two boys were caught off-guard by the sudden flash._

"_Wow! The camera works!" Kari grinned. "Merry Christmas, guys!"_

_Kari turned back around and closed her door. She was about to head off to bed, but stopped when she heard an interesting exchange outside._

"_I may not have my kendo stick… but this'll have to do! COME HERE, DAVIS!!"_

"_C-C-Cody? W-What are you going to do?"_

"_COME HERE, DAVIS!!"_

"_Cody! AAH! Stop, Cody! I'm sorry!"_

"_Come back here, Davis! I'll chase you all night if I have to!!"_

_Kari giggled and wondered if Cody would catch up to Davis. But in the meantime, she'd head off to bed._

Rika sweatdropped. "I don't even think Kazu and Kenta would be capable of something like THAT."

"That's Davis in a nutshell," Kari giggled. "He's totally one of a kind."

"It certainly sounds like he tries very hard," Jeri said. "Are you saying that didn't have any effect on you whatsoever?"

"Well… maybe he grew on me a little," Kari admitted. "Even though I didn't want a boyfriend, I will admit I found Davis's perseverance kinda cute. Unfortunately, I think TK picked up on that. And slowly but surely… he started to change…"

**It started around the time my friends were holding a fashion show for a clothing label they just started. They wanted me to be a model for them and TK and Davis were more than happy to volunteer. Unfortunately, it turned into a strutting contest… for my affections**_._

_The fashion show was going pretty well once it started. But Kari noticed that it quickly started to go downhill. Because TK and Davis were walking out one too many times. Kari had to give Mimi credit for being able to improvise, making this all sound like it WASN'T totally unscheduled._

_As Davis was going out one more time, TK rushed to catch up. He came over in a pair of brown cargo pants and a red turtleneck sweater. But in the rush to get out on the catwalk, TK lost his footing and stumbled forward. Unfortunately, he crashed right into Davis, sending him stumbling off the stage…_

_**__**CRASH**__**_

…_and onto the food table. Kari lowered her head, unable to even look. And Davis wasn't exactly taking this very well._

"_You did that on purpose, TP!!"_

"_I did not!" TK said defensively. "It was an accident!"_

"_Yeah?! And so is THIS!!"_

_Davis reached over for one of the cakes and chucked it at TK, hitting him right in the face. TK cleared his face of the cake and looked down to see Davis laughing. Uncharacteristically, TK lost his_ _composure. He jumped down off the stage and grabbed a cherry pie that was on the ground. He threw it at Davis with pinpoint accuracy, nailing him right in the face. _

_Davis cleared his face and growled. "That's it, TD! You want a piece of me?!" _

_"Bring it on, Mini-Me!!" TK shot back._

_"DON'T call me that!!" Davis shouted._

_Kari knew that nothing annoyed Davis more than being_ _referred to as Tai's Mini-Me. Davis reached over for the punch that remained in the punch bowl and splashed it on TK._

"_We haven't tested them for stains yet!" Mimi shrieked from the distance._

"_Shut up, Mimi!" Sora snapped. "The people don't know that!"_

_TK was ready to retaliate with a bowl of dip. But when he tossed it, Davis ducked. The bowl of dip flew into the audience… and hit a hapless girl in the face._

_TK gasped. "I'm so sorry!"_

"_Oh shut up, TE!" Davis growled. "You sound so CHEESY!"_

_With that pun being said, Davis poured cheese dip all over TK. Kari watched as this whole thing completely deteriorate. Davis was running around as TK hurled pies all over the place trying to hit him. Unfortunately, TK started hitting audience member after audience member._

"_STAND STILL, MINI-ME!!" TK shouted._

_Kari felt like turning away. Her two friends had completely lost their minds and she couldn't believe that they would actually start a food fight. She was beyond embarrassed and felt so bad for Mimi and Sora. Yet she couldn't look away… which turned out to be a huge mistake, because TK threw one final pie at Davis… which flew over his head…_

"_OHHH!! TK!!!"_

…_and hit Kari right in the face. TK saw what he had done and immediately ceased the fight. He ran over to check on Kari._

"_Kari, I'm so sorry! Let me clean you up."_

"_Out of the way, TC! I'LL clean her up!"_

"_No, I will!"_

"_I will!"_

"_I WILL!!"_

"_No, I WILL!!"_

"_ME!"_

"_No, ME!"_

"_ME!!"_

"_No, ME!!"_

_Kari couldn't take it anymore. "__**STOP IT**__!!!!!"_

_TK and Davis immediately stopped upon hearing Kari scream at the top of her lungs. Kari rarely ever did that, so they knew this was really serious. But Kari didn't want to just explode. She wasn't that kind of person._

_So instead, Kari walked over to the water cooler, which was half-empty. She walked over to Davis… and poured the water over his head. TK smiled… until Kari picked up a misfired pie from the ground… and smothered it in his face._

_Kari grinned. "There… I feel much better."_

_Kari's anger had gone down and she was ready to go. Not even giving TK or Davis another glance, Kari started to walk away from the remnants of the fashion show._

Rika shook her head. "Now THAT sounds like Kazu and Kenta."

"They actually started a food fight?" Jeri asked in disbelief.

Kari sighed. "Unfortunately. And things didn't end there."

"You're making it sound like such a big deal," Rika scoffed. "So two guys liked you and weren't afraid to show it. Maybe they were a little clumsy and immature, but it didn't sound like it was THAT bad. Did it really bother you THAT much?"

Kari raised an eyebrow. "If that's what you think, then let me skip ahead right to the main event. Let me tell you the WORST thing those two ever did."

Rika inched closer. "Go on."

"Yeah, tell us, Kari," Jeri added. "What happened?"

Kari sighed. "I can't believe I'm about to tell ANYBODY this story…"

**About a few weeks after the fashion show disaster, Davis and TK kept trying to get on my good side. And one day, they both showed up at my house… with their own magic kit. I'll admit, it was pretty fun at first and I was enjoying it. But it got really bad, really FAST**_…_

_Kari was definitely impressed with TK's last trick. And she couldn't begin to guess how he pulled it off. But she wasn't the only one. The other wannabe magician present also wanted to know his secret._

"_There's no way you could have pulled that trick off!" Davis exclaimed. "How'd you do it, TE?"_

"_Get my name right and I MIGHT tell you," TK grinned._

"_I don't need you to tell me! I can top that any day of the week!"_

"_You're just jealous, goggle boy! You cannot top that!"_

"_I… could. It just might… take me time."_

"_Is the great Davis FINALLY out of ideas?"_

"_I NEVER run out of ideas!"_

Kari knew it couldn't last. The two boys were fighting again. She couldn't take much more of it, so she buried her face in her hands. She didn't need to see this. And there was nothing worse for Kari than seeing her two friends fight.

_**__**CLICK**__**_

_Kari felt something snap. She turned her head to see… her left wrist had been handcuffed. And at the other end of the handcuffs… was Davis, who had a wide grin on his face._

"_For my next trick, I'll undo these magic handcuffs," Davis said._

"_Magic handcuffs, huh?" TK muttered. "Two can play at that game!"_

_TK reached into his box to reveal he had his own set of magic handcuffs. And he put them at Kari's RIGHT wrist. Kari felt trapped between a rock and a hard place and all she could do was sweatdrop._

_First, Davis attempted to undo the handcuffs. He took his plastic magic wand and he tapped the cuffs three times in a pattern. The cuffs didn't come loose._

"_Um… maybe it's like this."_

_Davis tapped the cuffs three times again, this time in a different pattern. Again, the cuffs didn't come loose. Kari was starting to lose her patience and she saw from the look on Davis's face that he knew it, too. So he tapped the cuffs again three times in a different pattern. But the cuffs would not come loose._

"_That's weird," Davis mused. "It always USED to work."_

"_What do you mean USED TO?!" Kari shouted indignantly._

"_Why don't you let me show you how it's done, Davis?" TK added._

_TK tapped his set of handcuffs three times in a different pattern than what Davis tried before. But it didn't work. The cuffs were still attached. TK sweatdropped and he tried again, this time tapping the cuffs three times in another pattern. Again, the cuffs stayed on. Kari was now giving TK a menacing look and TK knew he was short on time, so he tried tapping the cuffs again in a new pattern. It still wouldn't work._

"_So much for the two great magicians," Kari groaned. "Look, you obviously can't do it, so why don't you just get the key already?"_

_Davis blinked. "There's a key to this?"_

"_That's NOT funny, Davis!" Kari growled._

"_I'm not laughing," Davis gulped. "I didn't think there WAS a key to this. So I might have thrown it away with the box."_

_Through that revelation, Kari managed to keep her cool. "That's not a problem. I'll just undo those cuffs with TK's key. Where's your key, TK?"_

_TK blinked. "Um… I think Matt might have lost his key."_

_Kari gave TK an intimidating glare. "That's NOT funny, TK! Where's the key?"_

_TK scratched the back of his head with his right hand. "Well… I never PLANNED to use these. I just used them because Davis did it first. And I thought I could get them loose…"_

"_What are you saying, TK?" Kari demanded._

"_I don't have a key, either. I think we're stuck."_

_Kari immediately turned red. It wasn't the red that neither TK nor Davis was used to seeing. Kari was turning a very ANGRY shade of red. She looked like she was about to blow._

_Kari tried to sum it up. "So… you're saying I'm stuck like this? Attached at the wrist to BOTH OF YOU?!"_

_Davis smiled. "You know, if I could be attached at the wrist to anybody in the world, I'm glad it's…"_

"_SHUT UP, DAVIS!!" Kari shouted. She then focused her anger on TK. She grabbed him by the shirt with both hands, even though that meant dragging Davis over. "What do you plan to do about this?!"_

"_Yeah, TH! She obviously doesn't want to be attached to you! This is your fault!"_

"_My fault?!" TK snapped. "You're the one who attached yourself to her in the first place! This is your entire fault!"_

"_No one told you to attach yourself to her other wrist! It's yours!"_

"_Yours!"_

"_Yours!"_

"_YOURS!"_

"_STOP IT!!" Kari shrieked. "I don't care WHOSE fault it is! I just want these handcuffs off me! So what do you two plan to do about this?!"_

_**SILENCE**_

_TK spoke up first. "Well… we could always try to BREAK the handcuffs."_

_"But wouldn't it be kinda weird to try and break them here?" Davis thought._

"_That's the smartest thing you've said all day," TK responded. "Maybe we should try breaking these somewhere else so we won't be seen. Imagine if Kari's mom comes in and sees us like this. What if TAI sees us like this?"_

_Kari gulped. "Good point. A change of scenery would be nice."_

"_But where would we go?" Davis asked._

_TK grinned. "I think we all know the answer to that."_

_Kari sweatdropped. That obviously meant it was time to drag her other friends into this._

_And the last thing she really wanted was to be seen attached at the right wrist to TK and at the left wrist to Davis._

_This was going to be a VERY LONG DAY._

Kari sighed. "Those were the longest two days of my life. You have no idea what it's like to be attached at BOTH wrists! And I can't even begin to tell you about all the trouble everything caused. It's something I DON'T want to go through ever again."

Jeri had a look of shock on her face. "I can't believe it. I've never heard of being handcuffed at BOTH wrists."

"And you actually chose one of those clowns?" Rika asked. "I would have dropped them both."

"Actually, that thought did cross my mind for a while," Kari admitted. "But then things started to get better. And eventually… I made a choice. I chose TK."

"If you chose TK, then what's up with you and Davis?" Rika pointed out.

Kari sighed deeply. "Well… one day during my senior year, TK and I broke up. I… really can't say why. It's… complicated and I really don't want to bring up those bad memories. But the one who was there for me when we broke up… was Davis. And I can't begin to describe what a sweetheart he's been over these past few months." Kari suddenly started twitching. "You know… I really need to go to the bathroom right now. But I hope I answered everything."

Rika thought about that. "For now. We'll let you know if we think of something else. Right, Jeri?"

Jeri nodded. "We have all year to get to know each other. But in the meantime, I think I'm going to make something to eat. You guys have anything in mind?"

Kari got up and headed towards her room. "No, I'm fine."

Rika grabbed the remote and flipped on the television. "I'm in the mood for something exotic. Do your thing, Jer," Rika said as she propped her feet on the coffee table and laid back on the couch.

"I'll see what I can do, Your Highness," Jeri grinned as she headed towards the kitchen, while Kari began to head towards her own room. The Child of Light looked over to see that as Jeri began taking things out of the fridge, she was looking very satisfied with herself. Kari shook her head. It looked like Jeri was the type who'd want to know EVERYTHING about Kari's past relationships.

But she seemed like a nice enough girl. Kari wouldn't mind occasional girl talk.

* * *

Rika began flipping through channels, trying her hardest to find something on TV. But, the only thing she could think about at the moment was Kari and her past … 'relations.' She couldn't believe how willing Kari was to spill her guts like that. But there was quite a bit she couldn't believe about that girl.

"Can you believe her, Renamon?" Rika asked. "She had _two_ guys pursuing her constantly. Not giving her any breathing room whatsoever and even going as far as to handcuff themselves to her! If that was me, I'd have knocked their blocks off. But she actually chose one of those two. And after she broke up with one, she's going out with the other one! Pretty pathetic of her, if you ask me."

Rika turned around as Renamon came out and made herself visible. But it didn't look like she was paying attention. Instead, she was heading for the laundry closet.

"Renamon, what is it?" Rika asked curiously.

"She's here," Renamon muttered. "I can sense her. I can practically SMELL her."

"Who?"

Renamon sneered. "Gatomon."

Rika couldn't help but feel a little skeptical. If there was another Digimon in her room, she would have noticed. But this also concerned her a bit. If there was a Digimon in her room, then she had unwittingly been invaded. She may have unknowingly put herself in harm's way.

Renamon reached over and suddenly threw the door open. "I know you're in there, cat! Come out of there!"

Rika felt curious. She got up and walked behind Renamon and looked in the closet. But the closet looked empty save for the washing machine and the dryer where the clothes go. "Uh… Renamon, nobody's in here," Rika said but at that moment the dryer door rammed opened and a cat wearing yellow gloves came jumping out towards Renamon. It was a Digimon. That was the Gatomon that Renamon was talking about.

"Got you now, FOXY!!"

The Gatomon tackled and knocked Renamon on her back. Before Rika could even react, the two Digimon were rolling all around the room, swiping at each other. They kept rolling until they hit the wall, knocking down the picture frames that Rika just put back up. The Gatomon tried to swipe with her sharp claw, but Renamon shielded herself with one of pillows that were on the couch. Unfortunately, that resulted in the pillow exploding in an eruption of feathers.

"Oh, so you want a pillow fight, huh?" the Gatomon snarled.

The Gatomon reached over for another pillow. She swung it with all her might, knocking Renamon aside. She came running again and got ready to swing a second time. But by the time the Gatomon swung, Renamon punched it fiercely, creating another explosion of feathers. In the blink of an eye, Renamon rolled over and grabbed a bottle of water. She took a huge sip, but didn't swallow. When the Gatomon ran towards her again, with paws outstretched and ready to strike, Renamon met her with a spray of water that temporarily blinded the feline.

Renamon used that brief distraction to lunge forward and tackle that Gatomon, knocking her against the wall. More picture frames fell, to Rika's dismay. Renamon then picked the Gatomon up by one of her legs.

"You're going for a spin, kitty!"

Renamon started spinning around, increasing her momentum with every rotation, until she let go, and sending the Gatomon flying into the other wall. The Gatomon got up and started staggering around. Renamon looked like she was about to go in for the kill. But Rika realized that if she went for her Diamond Storm attack, she could cause a lot of damage to the room.

"Renamon! Not in here!"

Renamon turned to Rika, but the Gatomon responded quickly to that brief distraction. With catlike speed, she dove forward and delivered a stiff kick, knocking Renamon down. The Gatomon jumped on top of Renamon and put her hands on her throat. Renamon responded in kind by getting in a chokehold of her own. Both Digimon had their hands around the other's neck.

Jeri ran out of the kitchen and into the living room to the scene just in time. "Rika, what is going on?" she shrieked over the snarls and growls that were coming from the Digimon.

Suddenly, the door opened. Rika turned around to see …

…Zoë.

Everyone stood still in every direction. The two Digimon looked at the blonde stiffly, their hands still around each other's throats. Rika and Jeri stood frozen solid as Zoë's face was that of shock. No one didn't said anything until Kari eventually came from her room, in which Jeri slightly gasped. The Gatomon suddenly gasped. "Kari?"

Renamon took that opportunity to give the Gatomon one stiff punch, knocking her down and sending her sliding towards the door. Renamon fell to a knee, obviously fatigued.

Rika ran over to Renamon. "Renamon!"

But likewise… Kari ran over to the Gatomon. "Gatomon!"

Rika suddenly stopped in her tracks and turned around. She suddenly saw that Kari… was checking on the Gatomon.

"Are you ok, Gatomon?"

"I'm fine, Kari. But… I think I might have blown my cover."

Kari slowly turned around and saw Renamon. "Gatomon? Is that…"

The Gatomon looked fiercely at Renamon. "That's her. THAT'S Renamon."

Rika noticed that she wasn't even being acknowledged. But she had to state the obvious. She angrily stepped between the Gatomon and Renamon and stared coldly at Kari.

"That's… YOUR Gatomon?!"

Kari nodded timidly. "Y-Yes. Wait a minute! Is that… YOUR Renamon?"

Rika didn't answer. She continued glaring a hole right into Kari as Renamon stood by her side. The Gatomon suddenly leaped up and stood in front of Kari. This was tense to say the least… but the tension was soon broken… by an unexpected visitor.

"You know, some of us are trying to do some homework out here…"

Rika turned to see that one of the RA's had walked right up behind Zoë, who's attention was completely on the two Digimon that she didn't even notice when the RA walked up on her. Now Rika was panicked. The Digimon had been seen. But to Rika's surprise, the RA didn't panic at all. She calmly moved Zoë to the side and walked in the room, closing the door behind her.

"Kari, what is going on?"

Kari smiled shyly, not sure what to say. "Well… actually… you see…"

Sora stood at the doorway, switching gazes from Gatomon to Renamon. Jeri could only stand by the corner sheepishly. Zoë still had a look of disbelief on her face and Rika just looked lost. She didn't know what to make of any of this.

That's when a guy came to the door. It was one of the male RA's. "Sora! We've got a… problem…"

The guy looked inside and also noticed Gatomon and Renamon. Everything stayed eerily silent. Kari sweatdropped and waved coyly again.

"Hey, Tai!"

The guy sweatdropped. "I really AM getting too old for this." Then he shook it off. "Ok, so we've got Digimon up here AND down there…"

Sora cut him off. "Huh? What do you mean 'down there'?"

Tai shook his head. "Doesn't matter. Save all your questions for right now. I'll explain it… as soon as we have a meeting!"

Sora blinked. "Meeting?"

Tai looked inside the room. "You four, I want you up on the 4th floor in ten minutes!"

After leaving that instruction, Tai walked out, leaving four confused roommates and one bewildered RA.

"Uh… you… heard him," Sora said slowly. "So, I guess I'll see you guys up there."

Kari looked over at Rika… and smiled sheepishly. "I guess there's still a little bit you don't know about me."

Rika sneered. "That's obvious." She walked over to the door and turned back to give her a cold stare. "You coming?"

Kari nodded and followed with Jeri and Zoë right behind her. Rika couldn't believe this. Renamon had already been discovered… but Kari's little secret had also been exposed. This was too much for Rika right now and she didn't know what to expect from the RA's now.

But she was about to find out… as she headed up to the 4th floor.

* * *

Puppetmon looked over the whole row of Digimon that were lined up in the Server base's hangar. The quantity of Digimon down there was pretty pathetic. But the ones that WERE there were pretty vicious, either under the influence of the Black Gears or there out of the badness of their hearts.

"There are so many," Datamon murmured. "Puppetmon, who do you think should be sent to trash a city?"

"Hey! You weren't about to choose without me, were you?" another voice called out.

Puppetmon looked over at the hangar door to see that the third partner in crime had finally arrived. It was the Digimon Empress.

"It's about time you showed up," Datamon said. "Please be more prompt in the future."

The Digimon Empress walked over and looked over the whole row of Digimon. "They all look so perfectly nasty. I wish we could send them all. Such a shame we can only send one because of that imperfect machine. So how do we decide who goes?"

"Ooh, I know how to find out!" Puppetmon piped up. He stepped forward. "All of you guys, come over here!"

All the Digimon stepped forward… with the exception of one.

"Ah-ah-ah, Simon didn't say!" Puppetmon pointed out. He looked over to the one that didn't move. "Hey, you're pretty smart. I like that. Well… it might have been that you just weren't listening, but anyway… you just volunteered, big guy. Who are you?"

Puppetmon was looking right at the enthusiastic volunteer. He was a gray dinosaur with horns on his nose and a line of them on his back. There was a black and red striped tusk protruding from each shoulder. What Puppetmon liked most about this one was that he wasn't even wearing a Black Gear. This one was here on his own.

"This is Tuskmon," The Digimon Empress answered. "Not only does he look intimidating, but he's also got a vicious temper. He's perfect."

Puppetmon laughed maniacally. "Goodie! Let's send him NOW, Datamon!"

"NO!" The Digimon Empress snapped. "Now is not the time."

"What do you mean?" Puppetmon demanded. "Now looks like the perfect time! What are we waiting for?"

"Now Puppetmon, the one thing you need to learn is patience," Datamon cut in. "We COULD send him now, but our Digimon Empress has a point."

"What are you talking about?"

"If you want to terrorize the town, you have to wait until everybody's out!" The Digimon Empress clarified. "And there's nothing humans like me enjoy more… than a Friday night. So we'll go ahead and ruin their Friday by sending our little friend into the busy streets."

"Alright! Can't wait!" Tuskmon snarled.

"Isn't she just the cruelest?" Datamon said proudly. "Cut from the same mold we were."

"Hey, I may be mean and nasty, but don't compare me to YOU!" The Digimon Empress growled. "I'm not a walking dome or a termite buffet."

Puppetmon took offense to that. "TERMITE BUFFET?!"

The Digimon Empress nonchalantly started walking out. "I'll tell you what. I still have that communicator you gave me, Datamon. I'll tell you when the right time is. But if you want to cause some REAL damage and terror, then I suggest you WAIT until I give you that signal."

"We'll make sure to do that," Datamon replied. "Right, Puppetmon?"

"Yeah, yeah, but I'm not real good at waiting."

Puppetmon watched the cocky Digimon Empress walk out. He couldn't believe her ego. He sensed that she soon needed to be reminded that someone was pulling her strings. He would give her that harsh reminder soon enough.


	8. Revelations

Takuya couldn't believe his luck. He hadn't even been gone from Shibuya for more than a week and the young Sovereign Digimon had blown their cover. But, coincidentally, they weren't revealed to somebody who had no idea what Digimon were and where they came from. In fact, it was just the opposite. Apparently, the girl that had found them out was an RA. And a DigiDestined, no doubt. This changes the way things were, most definitely.

He sat on the floor of the 4th floor's lounge, his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. The small Digimon Sovereigns were huddled next to him and Koichi, who was looking around interestedly at the growing crowd of people and Digimon.

"You know Takuya... I don't think we were the only ones exposed," Koichi said thoughtfully. Takuya scoffed at his friend. "Gee, Koichi, what was your first clue?"

Tigrismon looked up at Takuya with a guilty look on his face. "I'm sorry, Takuya. We didn't mean to get in trouble," he said sadly. Takuya looked down at the rookie form of Baihumon. One look in those big, innocent eyes made Takuya's heart melt, even though he would never admit that. He's known this Digimon since he's been an egg, and he Digimon looked up to the Flame Warrior greatly. "Aww, its okay-," he began his sentence but someone interrupts him.

"Don't worry, Tigrismon, it's not your fault."

It was none other than Zoë Orimoto, the one person that Takuya did not want to deal with right now. Although, he was extremely surprised to see her. Koichi stood up to Zoë's height.

"Zoë, what's going on?" Koichi asked the blonde, who looked around at all the people.

She sighed, an amused look on her face. "Apparently, we're not the only ones hiding Digimon in our apartments."

Takuya scoffed at her, stil sitting on the floor around the Digimon Sovereigns. "You weren't hiding anything," he said under his breath towards Zoë, who snapped her head and glared at him quickly.

"You got something to say to me, Takuya?!" Zoë snapped at him, her anger rising.

Takuya stood up, nearly stepping on Zenithmon. "Yeah, Zoë, actually I do!"

Koichi sweatdropped at his two friends and hopped inbetween them. "C'mon guys, let's not do this here," he said, trying to play peacekeeper.

Zoë moves Koichi out the way, getting up in Takuya's face. "No, Koichi, let's hear what Takuya has to say!"

The small Digimon around them tried to get the two to avoid an altercation, as well. Turtwigmon put his tiny paws on Takuya's ankles. "Guys, let's all just get along!" Zenithmon stared dryly at the rookie form of Ebnowumon. "That's the best you can come up with?"

The two friends began getting louder and causing attention to be drawn in their direction. Everyone present took fleeting glances at the former couple. Kari walked over to them, a worried expression on her face.

"Zoë, is everything okay?" She asked her roommate. At the moment, Takuya's attention fell on Kari, a sense of déjà vu befalling him. This new girl seemed oddly familiar, but he wasn't quite sure where he'd seen her before.

Zoë walked over to Kari, but not before slapping Takuya in the face with her hair.

"Hey, Kari."

"Hi. Uh, who's your friends?"

"Well, this is Koichi, a really good friend of mine," Zoë said as she introduced Koichi to Kari, who shook his hand in a friendly manner.

She then turned in the other direction, completely ignoring Takuya. He wasn't about to let it go down like that, however. "Oh, so what I am? Chopped liver?" He asked as he walked up to Kari, himself. "If you were patient, I was getting to you," replied Zoë, a frown forming on her face. "Mmhmm."

Takuya extended his hand, and once he looked Kari directly in the face, he realized where he knew her from. "Hey, you're in my Calculus I class!"

Kari giggled. "Yeah, I know. Takuya, right?"

Takuya did one of his lopsided smiles. "Yep, in the flesh," he said confidently with a wink.

Zoë looked from her roommate to Takuya, assumptions running through her mind. Koichi walked up beside her. "Wait, so you two have already met?" He asked, subtly nudging Zoë in the ribs. She jerked at the movement, an action that didn't go unnoticed by Kari.

Takuya continued to keep the big, goofy smile on his face. "Yeah, we got the same Calculus class together." He turned towards Kari, his smile fading. "You did the Math homework for Professor Marquez?"

Kari giggled and Zoë rolled her eyes. Another guy with goggles walked over and put his arm around Kari's shoulder in a possesive way. "I think we got bigger problems than Math homework."

Takuya eyed the guy's goggles in curiosity. As did Koichi and Zoë. "Now, that's scary," Koichi said as Kari snatched the guy's arm from around her. "And your problems will be alot worse if you don't keep your hands to yourself."

She turned to the three Legendary Warriors. "This is my friend Davis."

Davis perked up, smiling widely at the three of them. "What's up! I'm sure you guys've heard of me already, though..."

Kari rolled her eyes with a small smile on her face. Takuya looked Davis up and down, a frown on his face. "Mmm, I've never heard of you."

This caught Davis off guard. When he looked directly at Takuya, his eyes went straight to his goggles, causing him to frown. Takuya caught the frown, and his eyes ruffled immediately. Davis crossed his arms and stuck up his nose like an arrogant rich lady. "Anybody's whose anybody has heard of the great Davis Motomiya," he said in an uppity voice. Takuya chuckled, making Davis open his eyes in a quick anger.

"The great? Of what? Making an ass of yourself?" Takuya replied back, causing Zoë to gasp and pull him towards him like a disobendient child. "Takuya! Why are so rude?!" She reprimanded him like a kid. Veemon came running over, as if called to battle. "You're just gonna let this guy talk to you like that, Davish?" The blue Digimon yelled in his partner's defense. Kari moved in front of the Digimon. "Oh, goodness Veemon. Don't rile him up," she said, but at that same moment Davis yelled a loud, "Hell no!"

This caught everyone in the room's attention, human and Digimon alike. The two fueding goggleheads blushed and turned from each other, frowns still shown on their faces.

At the front of the room were the building's Resident Advisors: Tai, Matt, Sora, and Mimi, all with worried looks on their faces. Tai did a fake cough, to catch everyone's attention towards him. He nodded towards Kari. "Everything alright over there?"

Kari smiled at her brother. "Everything's good!" She answered.

At that second, someone knocked on the lounge door. Matt walked over to answer it and two more people had just arrived. It was Izzy and Joe… and they were both carrying their respective Digimon, Tentomon and Gomamon.

"Sorry we took so long," Joe said casually. "We had a little trouble with our… uh… stuffed animals. Right, Izzy?"

"Oh… uh… YEAH! We had to take a while to… dust them off. They attract quite a bit of dust, you know. And we wouldn't want them to get grimy."

Matt sweatdropped. "You guys can go ahead and drop the stuffed animal act now."

"Um… what stuffed animal act?" Joe stammered. "Why, this is no act, Matt. You know that they're really…"

Tai stopped Joe in his tracks and pointed to the wall, where the Guilmon, Terriermon, and Renamon were all standing side-by-side. Tai then pointed in the direction of the four smallest Digimon in the room over by Takuya and Koichi. Azumon flew up and wrapped himself around Zoë's neck, like a snack wrapping around its owner.

Joe blinked. "Oh…"

Izzy's eyes widened. "What is this, Tai?"

Tai sighed. "Let's find out. I now call this floor meeting to order. I'd like to think there are some things that RA'scould overlook and pretend never happened. Frankly, I'd prefer it. Makes less work for me to do. But some things just can't be ignored. And… that's one of them."

Terriermon scratched the back of his head nervously. Henry sweatdropped.

Tai turned to Takato, Henry, Rika, Jeri, Takuya, Koichi, and Zoë. "That says it all. I think you all know what this is leading to. I think the question now is pretty obvious. YOU all know what I want to know. And don't try to deny it, either! The best thing to do is come clean and tell me what I want to know."

"Are you all DigiDestined, or what?" Mimi cut in.

Tai groaned. "Mimi! *I* wanted to ask them that!"

"Well, you were taking too long, Tai."

"It's called 'dramatic tension'! You know, leading up to the big question, that sort of thing."

"Well, SORRRRRRYYYYYY!!"

Rika looked over at Takato and Henry. "What's she talking about? I thought DigiDestined weren't real."

Henry nodded. "I think they ARE real. And…"

"That's us!" Davis chimed in. "We're the DigiDestined!"

Takuya looked over at Koichi and Zoë, a confused look on his face. Koichi couldn't hold himself anymore. "Wait, a second... There's more of us?" He asked.

Matt looked over at him. "Us? As in DigiDestined?"

The three of them nodded their heads.

"Well, yeah. All of us are DigiDestined. Except for them over there," Matt continued, gesturing towards the three Tamers.

Silence. There was some tension in the air. Everyone was a little nervous about what was happening.

"So, you guys are DigiDestined? That's one less question to ask, then," Tai said. He looked over at Takato, Henry, Rika, and Jeri again. "But you four… are you four DigiDestined?"

"We didn't even know DigiDestined existed," Jeri answered. "We thought they were just legends."

"But if you aren't DigiDestined, then what are you?" Sora asked. "What else could you be? You have Digimon."

"We're Digimon Tamers," Takato answered. "We thought they were Tamers, too."

Tai blinked. "What's a Tamer?"

The four exchanged glances before they all faced Tai again.

"Um… you don't know what a Tamer is?" Henry asked. "Yet you have Digimon?"

"Tamers each have a Digimon partner and they both look out for each other," Takato tried explaining.

"Kinda like a DigiDestined?" Matt asked.

"Yeah, but I heard DigiDestined go a step further and were actually chosen to save the Digital World," Takato pointed out. "And I've heard they've already saved it ten times over."

"Wait, a minute," Takuya stepped in the conversation. "What do you guys mean, Digimon partner?"

Now all eyes were on him. Everyone except for Koichi and Zoë. No one knew what to say.

"How are you guys DigiDestined and don't even know about Digimon partners?" Joe asked curiously, eyeballing Azumon in the process.

Takuya stammered, not really knowing what to say. He looked at Koichi and Zoë, who shrugged. "We... don't have Digimon partners."

Everyone had blank stares on their faces. Zoë blushed in nervousness, and Koichi looked down at his feet. "We're the Legendary Warriors," Takuya said slowly, but surely.

The entire room went eerily silent as everyone besides Koichi and Zoë stared at Takuya. He sweatdropped nervously. He didn't know what else to say, so he opened and closed his mouth like a dying fish. Davis's face turned a dark shade of red, before laughing wildly, causing Takuya's distaste for the gogglehead to grow even further.

"You guys actually think that you are the ANCIENT Legendary Warriors?!" He asked, holding his stomach from so much laughter. Mimi didn't take kindly to the revelation, either. "Just how stupid do you think we are?" She asked heatedly.

Zoë stepped in, a frown on her face. This surprised both Takuya and Koichi a great deal. "But, its true! Azulongmon gave us the power of the Legendary Warriors five years ago to save the Digital World!" She pulled out her pink D-Tector, causing everyone in the room to gasp and stare in awe. Takuya and Koichi also both pulled out their respective D-Tectors. From where he was standing, Takato pulled out his D-Power and held it close to him, examining the differences of his and Zoë's Digivices. They looked considerably different from one another. It was still a Digivice, but it was a different shape than his or any of the Tamers'. Everyone besides the three Legendary Warriors and their Digimon companions were amazed to see it, but none more than Izzy.

"Prodigious! That IS a Digivice! If I may ask, how did you guys get one?

"The funny thing about it, they used to be cellphones," Takuya began. "I heard the voice of Azulongmon coming from it and he gave me instructions to catch a Trailmon to the Digital World."

No one knew what to say. Izzy grabbed Takuya's D-Tector in a hurry, examining it like a precious gemstone. "You say this used to be a mobile phone?"

Takuya nodded slowly. "Uh... yeah."

Tai still couldn't figure out one thing, however. "Well, if you don't have Digimon partners, then what are these guys doing here?" He asked, pointing towards Tigrismon and the other three Digimon surrounding the warriors.

Takuya looked down at Tigrismon, who looked up innocently at him. "These guys? Well... actually they are the Digimon Sovereigns."

Everyone's jaw was wide-open. Especially Tai's. "Uh… Izzy?"

Izzy pulled out his laptop and used it to identify each Digimon. "Hmm… Tigrismon, rookie level, mammal data type," he started off, but something on the screen caught his eye, making him do a slight gasp. "He is the rookie form of Baihumon! His main attack is Guardian Jolt. Zenithmon, rookie level, bird virus type. His main attack is Blaze Ember and is respectively the rookie form of Zhuqiaomon!"

Terriermon waltzed over to Zenithmon, an unbelieving look plastered on his face. "This guy was Zhuqiaomon? Hard to believe... "

Zenithmon took a large offense to that. "And what's that suppose to mean?!" He asked his small beak nearly pecking Terriermon in the face. Terriermon covered his eyes with his large ears, flinching away from the bird Digimon. "Nothing! It's just... I can't imagine that you came from the large Sovereign that tried to burn us in a blazing inferno."

Izzy continued analyzing the rest of the Digimon. "Turtwigmon, rookie level, beast vaccine type. His main attack is Phantom Gaze, and is the rookie form of the Digimon Sovereign Ebonwuon!" Lastly, he looked towards Azumon, who was still wrapped around Zoë's neck. "One guess who that is," Davis said out loud right before Izzy said, "Azumon, rookie level, dragon data type; his main attack is Mystical Roar... And is the rookie level of Azulongmon!"

"What in the world made the Digimon Sovereigns revert back to their rookie levels?" Henry asked the question everyone in the room wanted to know. But, before any of the warriors had a chance to answer, Tentomon flew over towards Zoë and Azumon, looking them over with his large, insect eyes. "Izzy, this is what I was telling you about!"

Izzy looked up from his computer and towards his partner, a confused look on his face. "What are you talking about, Tentomon?" The insect Digimon sighed in exasperation.

"Izzy, when I told you about Fanglongmon nearly destroying the Digital World and the four other Sovereigns disappearing? They've must have reverted back to their rookie levels because of it," the bug Digimon said in awe, not knowing how to take this new information.

Gatomon jumped up, knowing hitting her. "That's right! Kari, remember about five years ago when we couldn't access the Digital World because of some electrical interferance going on from the inside? Well, that's the way Hawkmon put it," she said grabbing Kari's hand. Kari looked over at Zoë with a strange look before nodding. "Even though I wasn't there, Agumon told me that Fanglongmon, ruler of the Digimon Sovereigns, became corrupted by the demon Lucemon and nearly destroyed the entire Digital World!"

Takuya nodded in confirmation. "When Azulongmon first called us to the Digital World, it was under the rule of Fanglongmon, who was searching for the world's Fractal Code in order to revive the ancient evil Lucemon. That's why he gave us the power of the Legendary Warriors, in order to stop him."

"So when the rumor that the Legendary Warriors were revived, that was really you guys?" Gomamon asked Takuya with excitement.

"Well... yeah."

"Awesome!" Gomamon and Veemon both exclaimed at the same time. Takuya just blushed in embarrassment, while Davis frowned and snatched Veemon back to his side. "So... you guys are saying that you ARE the actual Legendary Warriors of ancient times that Gennai used to talk about?" Davis challenged Takuya, who smirked even wider. "I have no idea who Gennai is, but yeah, we ARE the Legendary Warriors. At least their powers. I have the power of Agunimon, Warrior of Flame."

"And I was giving the power of Wind, Käzemon," Zoë spoke up. Koichi sat silently, not really saying anything.

"What about you? Were you given the powers of the Legendary Warriors, too?" Tai asked him in a bossy tone.

Koichi nodded slowly before saying, "I got the power to become the Warrior of Darkness, Löwemon..." he trailed off, not really as enthusiastic as Takuya or Zoë.

"PRODIGIOUS!" Izzy yelled, making Tigrismon jump somewhat. "And you access this power through the power of your Digivices?" He asked. The three warriors nodded in reply.

Takato looked over at Takuya in awe. "That is probably the coolest thing... like... EVER! And what's crazy is I only met Guilmon a year before you guys got your powers," he said, putting the attention back on the Tamers.

"You've been to the Digital World?" Takuya asked the fellow goggle boy.

"We've… been there once," Takato answered. "But that took a lot of effort and we haven't been back ever since. We weren't summoned or anything like that, though."

"But, I thought the legend of the DigiDestined was that they were able to go in and out of the Digital World at will?" Henry asked, putting this question towards the Legendary Warriors.

Zoë smiled at him in a friendly manner. "Oh, we can! All we have to do is summon a Trailmon to take us there. Those guys can be a bit temperamental, though, so we don't go back as often as we like."

"Okay, information overload," Mimi commented, holding her head as if she was forming a headache.

Izzy stepped in. "That's interesting. How do you guys summon a Trailmon?"

"With out D-Tectors," she answered. Izzy, who was still clutching Takuya's Digivice, looked at it with even more amazement than before. "Prodigious... we can open a gate to the Digital World with our Digivices, but only if there's a PC or laptop present."

"Don't think ours came with that program," Takato said, staring down at his Digivice. He jumped down as Izzy immediately snatched it from his hands. "Hey!" He yelled before falling to the ground.

Izzy put the D-Tector and the D-Power side-by-side, examining them both. "This is so unbelievable. Their Digivices are also something I've never seen before. How did YOU come across your Digivices?"

There was a brief moment of silence. It was apparent that the last thing these Tamers expected was an inquiry on this night.

"Our stories are all different," Henry began. "I remember the day I got my Digivice. It was the day I was playing a computer game and I saw this Terriermon on the screen about to meet his end. A Blue Card suddenly appeared to me and I swiped it through one of my card readers. The card reader turned into a Digivice. Since then, Terriermon has been my partner."

Rika went next. "I remember when I got my Digivice. I had just won another tournament and when I came home, my card reader began to glow. I saw three windows, each full of Digimon who wanted me to make them stronger. But I said I just wanted ONE strong Digimon. And that's where I met Renamon. I saw a Blue Card on the ground and I swiped it through my card reader. It transformed into a Digivice. Since that day, Renamon and I have been partners."

"What about you, goggle boy?" Tai, of all people, asked. "How did you get your Digivice?"

"Oh, it's the weirdest story. I actually made Guilmon out of one of my drawings. One day before heading off to school, I noticed a Blue Card in my stack of Digimon cards. I had never seen it there before, but my curiosity got the better of me and I swiped it through my card reader. It started sparkling and going crazy… but I didn't want to risk a tardy, so I left for school. When I came back, there was a Digivice. I wondered if it was real and I swiped one of my drawings of Guilmon through it. And… that's when Guilmon came alive. And he's been my best friend ever since."

Izzy pulled out his laptop for the second time and used it to identify each Digimon. "Hmm… Renamon, rookie level, animal data type. Her main attack is Diamond Storm. Terriermon, rookie level, animal vaccine type. His main attacks are Bunny Blast and Terrier Tornado."

Patamon rubbed the back of his head painfully. "No kidding."

Izzy then tried to examine Guilmon, but encountered a surprise. "Amazing! This one isn't even listed!"

Takato nodded. "I told you. I made Guilmon out of a drawing."

Izzy looked like a kid in a candy store. "This is all so remarkable! After these past ten years, I thought I knew everything there was to know about Digimon and the Digital World. But now I find this! You guys have got to let me study you!"

Guilmon blinked. "Study? Like what Takato does with his books? Does that mean you want to throw me against the wall?"

Izzy sweatdropped. "Um… not quite what I had in mind." Then he thought of something else. "Actually, hold that thought for a few weeks. There's something else I'd like to study first." He looked over at Takato. "Do you still have that Blue Card with you?"

Takato reached into his pocket and pulled out the Blue Card. "It's right here."

Izzy took the Blue Card and examined it. "It appears to be an ordinary card. But from what I'm hearing, this Blue Card has some mysterious power. I see a bunch of secrets just WAITING to be uncovered. Now do any of you have a Digivice I could use?"

Henry took out his Digivice and handed it to Izzy. Izzy gladly took it in his hand and started looking it over.

"Hey Izzy, let me take a look at that Blue Card," Tentomon chimed in.

"So you've only been to the Digital World once?" Sora asked.

Takato nodded. "There was a huge outbreak of Digital Fields in our hometown of West Shinjuku. We were invaded by the twelve Devas, all ultimate-level Digimon who were looking for a friend of ours. Once our friend was taken, we took advantage of the open Digital Field to go into the Digital World. While we were there, a lot happened to us. We faced off with the rest of the Devas and we met up with the four Digimon Sovereigns: Azulongmon, Baihumon, Ebonwumon, and Zhuqiaomon," Takato explained, casting a quick side glance at the rookie forms of the Sovereigns.

"We found out that there was a greater threat out there known as the D-Reaper, a program made to balance out the Digital World that had mutated out of control. Thanks to Henry's dad, we were able to leave the Digital World on an ark made through a program. But it still wasn't over. The D-Reaper reached as far as West Shinjuku and wreaked all kinds of havoc before we were able to stop it for good," he continued.

There was another brief silence. Davis's jaw was still wide open. He couldn't believe he never knew about any of this until now.

"Matt, does this feel like it'll be a long year to you?" Tai asked.

"I kinda get that vibe," Matt replied. "But look at it this way, Tai. It's just six new guys."

"But aren't there four Tamers?" Sora pointed out.

"Hey, that's right!" Tai agreed. He then looked at the fourth one present… Jeri. "What about you?"

Jeri hung her head down sadly. "I… used to be a Tamer."

"Used to be?" Zoë asked. "What happened?"

"Takato mentioned that a lot happened to us in the Digital World. And I don't think anyone was more affected than I was. It's… a long story… and it's not one that I'd care to relive anytime soon. I hope you understand."

Zoë was about to pry a little further, but Koichi put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. Takuya realized that if anyone could relate to past strife, it was Koichi.

Izzy looked over the Blue Card. "If I may, I'd like to study this Blue Card. And later on, some of your Digimon. Is that ok?" He asked the Tamers.

Takato nodded. "I don't see why not."

"Great! Thanks a lot! This meeting is adjourned!"

"HEY! Who's the leader here?" Tai snapped. He hesitated for a moment. "Ok, I guess I have a few last words to say. You guys are really lucky that I'M the one who caught you and your Digimon. If it had been anyone else, like… I don't know…"

"Ms. Mackenzie?" Sora suggested.

"Thanks, Sora. If anyone else like Ms. Mackenzie had caught your Digimon, then who knows what would happen? You guys have to be more careful!"

TK looked over at Patamon and shook his head. "I knew it was a bad idea bringing you along, Patamon. Maybe it's better if you just go home."

Patamon gasped and immediately rushed to clutch TK's leg. "No, TK! Please don't send me home! I'll be good! I promise! That was just an accident! I won't do it again! I promise, TK! Please!"

"TK… maybe you should just be more careful," Matt cut in. "Patamon's not the type to get into trouble on purpose."

"I think if there's anybody we should worry about, it's Gatomon and Renamon," Kari pointed out. "They have an old grudge from the past and I'm not sure if they'll be able to get along."

"I agree with you completely, Kari," Gatomon nodded. "I don't think Renamon and I CAN get along."

"First time I've agreed with you on anything, Gatomon," Renamon concurred.

"Uh huh. So you can go ahead and leave."

Renamon nodded… until she realized what she just said. "What?! Why should *I* leave?! If anyone should leave, it's YOU!"

"No way!" Gatomon protested. "I was here first! You leave!"

"You were NOT! I was! You leave!"

"No, you!"

"You!"

"YOU!"

"No, YOU!"

"STOP IT!" Kari and Rika shouted.

Sora decided to play peacemaker. "Ok, I see only one way to settle this."

"You do?" Mimi asked.

"Come on, Mimi. The answer's right in front of us." She walked over between Gatomon and Renamon. "I think you should both get to stay here… but ONLY if you two can get along. I think that the first one of you to show any act of physical hostility or aggression towards the other should be the one to leave."

"Sounds fair," Gatomon mumbled.

"I agree," Renamon muttered.

"Now show me that you two are ok with this," Sora said.

Gatomon spit in her glove and extended the hand of friendship. "Here."

"What's that?" Renamon asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I saw it in a movie once," Gatomon answered. "It's how two people make an agreement. Just do it."

Renamon shrugged. "Whatever you say."

With that, Renamon naïvely spit in Gatomon's glove. Gatomon groaned in disgust and looked over at Kari.

"Come on, Gatomon. You remember the movie. You HAD to see that one coming."

"I guess so," Gatomon muttered dryly. "Maybe I should be a little more careful next time."

Tai cleared his throat. "So… I'll just wrap this up by saying, PLEASE be more careful with your Digimon. You can keep them here. The RA's and I are willing to look the other way… mostly because we can relate, since some of us have Digimon on our own." He made sure to focus his gaze on Joe and Izzy. "But you have to make sure that the other students and the other university staff don't see them. Are we all clear?"

The freshmen all nodded.

"Ok then. RA's? Any more words for the freshmen?"

The RA's shook their heads.

"Ok then. Meeting adjourned. Now if you'll excuse me… I need to check for wrinkles."

With that, Tai Kamiya walked out. The ground rules were now set. But Davis couldn't help but notice something.

"Did he say 'check for wrinkles'?"

"DON'T… ask!" Matt groaned.

Matt and the older DigiDestined then followed Tai's lead and started walking out, but Izzy stopped and looked back, holding up Takato's Blue Card.

"I'll have this back to you next week. Or better yet, I'll give you a call. Maybe we can talk sometime, DigiDestined to Tamer."

"I'm looking forward to it," Tentomon added. Izzy then turned to the Legendary Warriors. "And you three..." He said, his gaze falling on the small Sovereign Digimon. "I would like to talk to you sometime regarding the current state of the Digital World that I'm sure you know its in. The Digimon Sovereigns have been missing for five years."

The three sweatdropped and looked down at the floor.

The 4th floor lounged was then cleared of any old DigiDestined. The only ones remaining were the new DigiDestined, the Tamers, and the Legendary Warriors.

"So… I guess things will be different now?" Davis guessed.

"Yeah. There's a lot I'm curious about. Well… there's some stuff I WOULD ask, except…" Takato started, but trailed off.

Silence.

"What?" Davis, TK, and Ken asked.

Takato sweatdropped. "I've got homework."

So did Henry. "Me, too. I have a feeling we'll pick this up as we go along. We'll see you around. Come on, Terriermon."

Terriermon was about to walk over to Henry, but he turned to shoot Patamon a stare. From what Davis could tell, this little Digimon was liable to hold a grudge. But surprisingly, he walked over to Patamon and just extended the hand of friendship.

"Let's just call this whole thing even," Terriermon muttered. "Truce?"

Patamon reluctantly accepted. "Fine. Truce. I'm sorry I hit you in the back."

"And I'm sorry I threw you into the wall."

Kari saw this gentle exchange and turned to Gatomon. "See that, Gatomon? Why can't you and Renamon do that?"

"Forget it!" both Gatomon and Renamon snapped, before turning their backs to each other.

Seeing Kari was getting nowhere with those two Digimon, she focused on Rika. "Well… we have all year to make sure they get along. I'm sure they can be good friends, just like you and me."

Unfortunately, Rika didn't share in Kari's cheerful demeanor. She slowly turned her head and looked sourly at her.

"I have some homework of my own. Let's go, Renamon."

"I'm right behind you, Rika."

Rika started heading out with Renamon following behind. As they reached the door, Renamon went invisible and disappeared.

"Whoa! Neat trick!" Davis exclaimed. "You don't see that everyday."

TK just shrugged. "This has been a weird day and I'm just glad it's coming to an end. Let's just go back."

Davis couldn't argue with that. He was about to go back to his room with TK and Ken, but Kari grabbed his hand and stopped him. He turned around to see a warm smile on her face.

"So… are we still going out tomorrow night?"

Davis scratched the back of his head bashfully. "Of course! I can't wait! It'll be a Friday night you'll never forget!"

Kari leaned over and kissed Davis on the cheek. "I'm sure it will be."

Davis stood frozen, once again blushing a bright red. Kari giggled and started leading him out by the hand. He may not have been Kari's boyfriend yet, but Davis could feel that he was well on his way.

The three Legendary Warriors were now the only ones left, along with the four rookie Digimon that bought them here in the first place.

Takuya sighed in relief. "Glad that's over."

"No kidding," Koichi added, before scooping up Zenithmon and Turtwigmon in his arms. Tigrismon climbed up Takuya's back and stood on his shoulder. Azumon was now asleep around Zoë's neck. She just smiled at the small Digimon. "I'll take him to my room. Clearly, you guys aren't able to handle all of them at the same time," she said, walking out the lounge. Takuya frowned after her, but decided against retaliating.

"She is so aggravating!" He exclaimed to Koichi as the two began walking back to their room.

"You know you still like her," Koichi quipped.

Takuya scoffed and shoved his hands in his pockets. The only thing on his mind right now was Koji, who was no doubt going to have a million questions to ask once they got back.

* * *

Sora found that whole meeting to be very revealing. Before this day, she didn't know that there were such things as Digimon Tamers, and the revelation that Legendary Warriors have been revived in the form of humans was something she didn't think she was ever going to get used to. And it looked like the year would get much more interesting with more Digimon roaming around the apartments. Hopefully no one would notice.

But before Sora and Mimi could reach their room, they saw someone waiting for them. It was the Resident Director.

"Oh hello, Ms. Mackenzie," Mimi grinned nervously.

"Good evening, ladies," Ms. Mackenzie smiled. "I couldn't help but notice that you and some of the freshmen were heading to the 4th floor lounge… carrying around some stuffed animals. Very odd, to say the least. There isn't a problem, is there?"

"Oh, no problem," Sora replied hastily. "Nothing wrong at all. It's just that … … we wanted to go over the … … stuffed animal policy with them!"

"Strange. I don't think we HAVE a stuffed animal policy."

"Really? I thought they were adding one this year. Weren't they, Mimi?"

"It must have gotten cancelled at the last second. I wish they'd let us RA's know that sort of vital information ahead of time."

"So there aren't any problems?" Ms. Mackenzie asked.

Sora fumbled with her key. "Oh, no problem. No problem at all."

She struggled to get the key in and when she got it in, she finally turned it. The door opened, but Sora heard the door smash against two skulls, followed by two yelps. Sora looked inside and saw Biyomon and Palmon, still in their dresses, get knocked back. They were obviously eavesdropping.

Ms. Mackenzie walked into the room and picked up Biyomon. She looked the little bird straight in the eye. To Biyomon's credit, she didn't even flinch, despite the impromptu starting contest. She was used to playing this little game with Sora's other visitors.

"I'm seeing the strangest stuffed animals this year," Ms. Mackenzie noted. "And I've seen my share of strange toys before. Did this one come with the dress?"

"Oh no, that's our unique design!" Mimi exclaimed proudly. "You like it? We want to go into children's apparel someday."

"It looks lovely, ladies. Well if there aren't any problems, then I'd better take my leave. I have some assignments of my own that I need to wrap up. Have a good night, RA's."

"Good night," Sora and Mimi said in unison.

Ms. Mackenzie finally placed Biyomon gently on the ground and started walking out, but not before she briefly turned her head to give Palmon a quick glance. She walked out and closed the door behind her. Sora and Mimi breathed big sighs of relief.

Biyomon shook her head frantically. "There's something weird about that lady."

Palmon rubbed her head painfully. "That really hurt! Do you have to open that door so hard?"

"You two can't be eavesdropping like that," Mimi chided. "We got lucky this time, but what if you get seen next time? Do you two HAVE to be so nosy?"

"We're girls, what can we say?" Palmon grinned.

Biyomon nodded. "Just because we aren't human, doesn't mean we don't like to hear juicy tidbits just like any other girl. So what happened?"

Sora sat on the couch. Biyomon took that as a hint and rushed over to sit on her lap. Mimi stayed with Palmon and struggled to get the dress off the little plant.

Sora sighed. "Where should I start? Well… we know where the Digimon Sovereigns are now…"

* * *

"So what happens now?"

Matt was the first one to pose that question to Izzy and Joe as soon as they got into Matt and Tai's apartment. Tai might have done the same thing, but he had rushed to his room as soon as they got back. It was just Matt alone with Izzy, Joe, Tentomon, and Gomamon.

"There's something that's still bothering me about this," Izzy replied.

"What's that?" Joe asked.

"It started out that WE were the ones destined to save the Digital World," Izzy explained. "A few years later, things changed and the new Digivices were created for the NEW DigiDestined. It was even discovered that DigiDestined were all around the world. But Gennai never told us about Tamers. And if this so-called 'D-Reaper' was as big a threat as Takato said it was, then why didn't Gennai ever come to us or any of the other international DigiDestined? Why take a chance with a whole new breed?"

"And what's up with these Legendary Warriors reincarnated? Why do they have the Digimon Sovereigns with them like a bunch of house pets? They have a VERY important role in the Digital World, and that's where they need to be!" Tentomon said in something of an angry voice.

"I guess that's something we'll just have to ask Gennai," Matt guessed.

"You talk like it's as easy as a phone call," Joe pointed out. "This is Gennai we're talking about. We don't see him unless he wants us to see him. If he chooses to keep in touch with anyone, it's Izzy. And even HE hasn't seen Gennai in years."

"I'm very curious about all this," Izzy mused. "I have some questions I'd like to ask Gennai. But we'll have to wait until he comes to us again."

"So what do we do in the meantime?" Matt asked.

"I'm going to take a look at these new Digivices and this Blue Card," Izzy answered. "Who knows what fascinating information I can find."

"Won't that cut into your TA time?" Tentomon thought.

"I think it works the other way around," Izzy replied. "My TA time will cut into this. But I can get a lot more done if I have some help… from a certain friend."

Joe blinked. "Izzy, why are you looking at me like that?"

"You're the only one with that kind of time on your hands, Joe."

"You think I have time on my hands? I'm a fifth-year senior trying to get my Master's! I hardly have any time! I have to balance schoolwork and… watching Gomamon."

"Joe, I don't think watching over me is a 24-hour-a-day task," Gomamon protested. "Maybe we can help Izzy study this stuff. I know I'VE never seen anything like those Digivice or that Blue Card. And getting to know THE Legendary Warriors that defeated Lucemon would be awesome!"

"Let's do all that during the weekend, Joe," Izzy persisted. "I'll call Cody! We can all look them over together, just the three of us."

"Ahem…"

"Ok, the five of us. Maybe six if Cody brings Upamon."

Joe sighed. "You aren't about to stop bugging me about this, are you?"

"Nope."

"Ok, fine! I'll be at your apartment on Sunday."

Matt sweatdropped. "Sounds like you guys have a fun weekend ahead of you."

"You bet," Izzy grinned, unable to see past Matt's sarcasm.

Suddenly, Tai walked back into the room. He looked to be hiding something behind his back, but Matt quickly cut him off.

"Tai, what do you have behind your back?"

"Uh… nothing…"

"Tai, what is it?"

"Nothing. It's none of your business."

Now Matt was curious. He reached over behind Tai's back to try and grab whatever he had. Tai struggled to try and keep it away and he ended up dropping it. Before Tai could bend down and pick it up, Matt shoved him out of the way and got it first. Matt looked at the bottle and sweatdropped.

"Just For Men?" Matt muttered dryly. "Tai, you got HAIR COLORING?!"

"I noticed some gray hairs," Tai said sheepishly. "It took me a while to find them, but they're there."

Matt sighed deeply. "Tai, I hate to do this, but… what am I saying? No I don't."

Matt reared back and punched Tai in the face, just like in the good old days. Tai fell and landed on the couch. But to Matt's surprise, that didn't solve anything.

"Matt, my face can't take as much punishment as it used to. It's getting on in years."

Matt shook his head, threw his hands up in frustration, and looked over at Izzy and Joe. "A little help?"

"Well, we'd better be going," Izzy said quickly.

"Yeah, we've got a lot of homework, you know," Joe added. "But we'll let you know what we find about the Digivices and the Blue Card. Later, guys."

Izzy and Joe took Tentomon and Gomamon and rushed out, leaving the two RA's all by themselves. Tai was looking in the mirror, checking for bruises, which he never did after any of the other previous times that Matt punched him. Matt didn't know what else to do.

"Tai, I don't know what to do with you. What do I have to do to show you that you're still a young man?"

"There's nothing you CAN do, Matt. I've aged. The only thing I can do is accept it."

"You can accept it. But you are NOT an old man, Tai Kamiya! And I'll find a way to prove it to you!"

Matt stormed in his room, leaving Tai alone to think. He didn't know how, but he would make Tai feel young again.

* * *

There was a silence back in the dorm of the younger male DigiDestined. They didn't know what else to say about what happened and what's been discovered. And for Davis, the silence was bordering eeriness.

"Well? Isn't anybody going to say something?"

"I think it's still sinking in to some of us," Ken replied.

"I don't know about that Terriermon," Veemon began. "What if he tries to get in here again?"

"We'll be ready for him," Patamon grinned.

"Oh no! No more fighting between you!" TK snapped. "We were lucky none of the other people in this hall noticed four Digimon battling in a dorm room."

"That Ms. Mackenzie lady heard something," Veemon pointed out. "She came in here and got in a staring contest with Patamon."

"Why didn't you say anything before?" Davis demanded.

"You didn't ask," Veemon answered casually.

"If she's not on to us now, she probably will be by the end of the year," Ken said. "We can't go on like this, can we? Maybe you're right, TK. Maybe it's best if they go back to the Digital World."

"Now wait a second, guys!" Davis cut in. "I'll admit that these first few days haven't been what we'd hope they'd be. But we can't just let the Digimon go back. They deserve to be here with us. And I don't know about you guys, but I have confidence in them. I'm sure they can keep from being seen by anyone else. I'm letting Veemon stay."

"You're sure about this?" TK asked skeptically.

"Have I ever been wrong before?" Davis asked.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" TK grinned.

Davis frowned. "No."

"Maybe you have a point, Davis," Ken admitted. "And I think Matt's right. We just have to be a little more careful. As long as the Digimon don't leave the room, everything should be fine… hopefully."

"Well, you guys can keep talking about this, but I'm going to bed," Davis yawned.

"Why so early?" TK asked. "It's only 11 o'clock."

"I think I speak for everyone when I say that this has been a really long day," Davis answered. "And I know tomorrow will go a lot better, because tomorrow night's my date with Kari."

TK sighed deeply. "Can't forget that now, can we?"

"I don't know what you're complaining about," Ken smirked. "Didn't you just make a date of your own for Saturday night?"

"Huh? Now hold on, Ken. I wouldn't call that a date."

"You're both going out to dinner alone," Davis pointed out. "I don't know what YOU call that, but I'd call it a date."

"It's NOT a date!" TK snapped.

Ken and Davis just smirked.

TK sighed deeply. "Ok, maybe it IS a date." Then he shook it off. "And so what if it's a date? I need to start dating again, anyway. I can't keep thinking about Kari forever. Besides, if she's moving on, why can't I?"

"That's the spirit, TK!" Ken grinned. "Move on with your life. Make the best of your night with Catherine. And don't even t think about Kari. You'll probably have it a lot better than she does."

Davis cleared his throat. "Ahem…"

Ken sweatdropped. "Oh… I mean… you'll both have it… EQUALLY as good. Uh… yeah."

Davis shrugged and started getting ready for bed. The Digimon were also getting tired, just from seeing Davis yawn, and started getting ready to sleep. They all went into their respective rooms sleepily. Tomorrow would be a new day. One Davis was looking more than forward to.

* * *

Takato and Henry sat side-by-side on the floor and looked over at Terriermon and Guilmon, who were hanging their heads down shamefully. Takato couldn't take his eyes off of them after the near- disaster that took place.

"You never DID answer my question, Terriermon," Henry said.

Terriermon blinked. "You asked me a question?"

"Before TK, Ken, and Davis came in," Henry continued. "I asked you why you were in their room in the first place. Why WERE you in their room?"

Terriermon frowned. "Aw, Henry, I really don't want to say…"

"Yeah, Terriermon," Guilmon cut in. "Tell us why you were in their room."

"Oh, shut up!" Terriermon snapped. "You're a BIG help!"

"Terriermon, why were you in their room?" Henry asked again.

"Uh… well… um… I… might have gone in there to… pull a prank."

"WHAT?!"

"I didn't know I'd get caught. It's not my fault."

"WHY were you going to pull a prank on them? I thought I said NO PRANKS!"

"No, you told KAZU AND KENTA 'no pranks'," Terriermon pointed out. "You didn't say anything about me." He flinched when he saw that Henry wasn't amused. "Uh… I guess you meant no pranks from anyone, right?"

"Right!" Henry growled.

"But why pull a prank, Terriermon?" Takato asked curiously.

"We did it for you, Takato," Terriermon answered.

"We?" Guilmon repeated.

"It was Kazu and Kenta who came up with the prank. They were as much a part of this as I was."

"Really? What were they planning to do?" Takato asked.

Terriermon walked over and whispered the whole twisted plan into Takato's ear. And just the sheer twisted nature of it got Takato snickering.

"That's pretty good," Takato admitted. "That sounds kinda funny, actually."

"What is it?" Henry asked.

Takato leaned over and whispered the whole thing in Henry's ear. Even Henry was starting to laugh at the sound of this prank.

"That IS pretty good," Henry smiled. Then he grew serious again. "But you can't be doing this sort of thing, Terriermon. I told you that I don't want us making enemies this early in the year."

"Ok, I'm sorry, Henry."

"You've got to give credit to Kazu and Kenta," Takato said cheerfully. "That's pretty creative. But what I don't understand is, why do it to them?"

"Because we wanted to get back at Davis for hitting you so many times," Terriermon answered. "Those couldn't have ALL been accidents."

"Believe or not, they were," Takato replied. "Trust me, I've gotten to know Davis and… he's kinda clumsy."

"KINDA?!"

"Well… ok, he's a klutz. But he doesn't do these things on purpose. I'm not mad at him and neither should you, Terriermon."

Terriermon huffed. "Ok, fine! But only because you and Henry both seem to like this guy."

Suddenly, the phone rang. The conversation was cut a little short as Takato got up to answer the phone.

"Hello?"

_"Hi, Takato!"_

"Hey, Jeri! Your room still in one piece?"

_"For the most part. Rika and Kari have spent the whole time since we got back laying down ground rules for Renamon and Gatomon. You'd be surprised how much those two seem to hate each other."_

"I'm sure that's their business. I wouldn't want to get in the middle of that."

_"Me neither. In fact, I don't want to be playing peacekeeper here with Rika and Zoë tomorrow night."_

"What do you mean?"

_"Kari and Davis are going out on a date. And… it's not that I want to abandon Rika, but… I WOULD like to get out of this room Friday night."_

Takato knew Jeri was subtly hinting that she wanted to go out tomorrow night. He could sense that she was just stringing him along through this phone call.

"Did you want to do something tomorrow night, Jeri?"

_"Well… I did have an idea. But… it might not be what you think it is."_

"What is it?"

_"I was hoping you and I could wheel Guilmon around in a shopping cart, like we used to do when we were younger. I'm sure Guilmon would love the chance to get some fresh air, too."_

Takato liked that suggestion. "That's not a bad idea. I guess it'd be just like old times. Besides, I'm sure Zoë is more than enough help to keep order between those two. Or if not, maybe Henry could help her out."

"Huh?" Henry asked, unaware of what unenviable task he was being volunteered for.

_"Then we'll go out tomorrow, Takato? Walking Guilmon along under the stars?"_

"Uh… whatever you say, Jeri."

_"Great! I'll see you tomorrow night! Bye, Takato!"_

Jeri sounded so excited as she hung up. It took a while for Takato to absorb what just happened. But apparently, he had a date tomorrow night. It was an ODD sort of date, since no normal person would consider walking a Digimon in a shopping cart a date, but it was a date, nonetheless.

"What happened?" Henry asked.

Takato blushed. "I think… I have a date."


	9. Friday

Marcus was so happy to be done with work for the day. He has been on the clock since this morning, and now that 6:00 was rolling around, it was now time for him to go home. He untied his apron and threw it in a locker in the back of the employees lounge by The Den.

Being a janitor for a college is a lot harder than Marcus would've admitted. In fact, it made Marcus not even want to go to college after a day like today. From dealing with the temperamental bosses, the rude older kids, and the uptight teachers, Marcus couldn't wait to graduate this year so he wouldn't have to worry about school ever again.

Not to mention his Aunt Diane checking on him in between every class she taught. That really started getting on his nerves. And to think, he had to keep doing this retarded job until NEXT FRIDAY, when his suspension from school would be lifted. Thankfully, his mother and sister would be coming for a visit on Sunday.

As he walked out the employees lounge, Marcus's boss stopped him. "Damon, I know you're off at 6:00, but could you help me clean up this mess back in the kitchen? Apparently, something's been getting in the food, making a mess everywhere."

Marcus cringed, not wanting to say yes, but the extra money could do him some good. All day, The Den staff have been having to deal with someone or something breaking in and stealing food, spilling over trash cans, and even leaving some around the cafeteria. The first thing Marcus thought of was rats.

"Okay, I guess," Marcus sighed.

"I mean, if you not in hurry or anything?" "It's cool, Mr. Towanda. I can help. Just let me call my uncle first."

Marcus's boss, Mr. Towanda, nodded his head, a large grin on his face. He gave Marcus his cell phone, and walked towards the kitchen.

Dialing the Avalons house number, Marcus waited for someone to answer.

"_Hello_?" It was Naomi, Marcus's cousin.

"Hey, Naomi, is Willy home yet?" "_Yeah. Hold on_." **PAUSE. SILENCE.**

"_Hello, William speaking_.""Uncle Willy, could you come and pick me up from the school in about an hour?"

"_Sure thing, my boy. Not a problem_."

"Alright, thanks."

Marcus hung up the phone. He honestly did not want to go back in the kitchen, dealing with another mess the rodents had made. But, if it puts more money in his pocket, than isn't too much he can complain about.

------------------------------------------

Rika walked back into her apartment/dorm after a long day of classes. Thank goodness today was Friday. Unfortunately, with nothing to do, however, she would somehow get stuck with the daunting task of maintaining the peace between the feuding Gatomon and Renamon. Kari was going out on a date in a little bit, so hopefully Rika wouldn't be the ONLY one home.

In the living room sat Gatomon and Renamon, both sitting on either side of the couch with maddened looks worn on their faces. Jeri was in the kitchen, sponge in hand, doing a little cleaning.

From Kari's room, Rika could hear-

"OW! Zoë, be careful!" Kari cried as she took a deep intake of breath, mostly out of pain. "I want to have both my eyebrows intact for my date with Davis."

"You have to hold still, Kari," Zoë said. "Your eyebrows are pretty thick, so it's not going to feel good. I'm almost done, calm down."

There they went, off being girly again. Rika just shrugged. If Kari wanted to go out with that klutz, that was her own business. If anything, Rika would just be happy to have her away for the night. In the few days she had known her, Rika didn't find anything she could like about this girl.

A few minutes later, Zoë was done doing Kari's eyebrows. She held up a mirror for Kari to see herself. Her face brightened once she looked at reflection.

"I love it, Zoë!" She exclaimed.

Zoë smirked, an arrogant one, at that. "I am pretty good, aren't I?" Kari just laughed as she walked out into the main room, where Rika, Jeri, Renamon, and Gatomon were.

"So guys, how do I look?" They all turned to her, different expressions for all of them. Jeri jumped up, a gleam in her eye. "Kari, you look so pretty!" "Thank you!"

Then, Kari turned to Rika, who had a pretty indifferent look on her face. "Rika, how do I look?"

Rika stared at her for a minute, no one knowing exactly what she was about to say. Kari nodded slowly, trying to get Rika to say something. But Rika just shrugged.

"What? You look the same."

Kari frowned. "Oh…"

Jeri scoffed. "Don't listen to her, Kari. Rika's the type of girl who never notices those types of things. You look great!"

Kari's face lit up again. "You think so?"

"Um, duh!" Zoë chimed in, patting the girl on her shoulder. "And it's even better cause *I* did it. [chuckles]."

"And I'm sure Davis will notice, too," Jeri added.

Rika turned back around. She was getting the urge to go out herself since she felt like she was suffocating in this room. The combined factors of Zoë, Jeri, and Kari's extreme femininity and Gatomon and Renamon's friction were getting to be too much for her.

Kari looked at the time. "I'd better get ready for my date. It's almost 6:30."

Jeri gasped. "I'd better get ready for MY date!"

That got Rika's attention. "Wait a minute! YOU have a date?"

"I'm going out with Takato," Jeri said matter-of-factly. "We're taking Guilmon for a stroll."

Rika's ire was rising. She took Jeri by the hand. "Jeri, can I see you OVER HERE?"

"Sure thing," Jeri grinned.

"I'm about to get in the shower, guys," Kari announced, retreating back to her room and shutting the door behind her. Zoë walked over to the sofa where Gatomon and Renamon were. Looking at the two Digimon's cold faces made her a tad nervous as she sat right in between them cautiously.

Rika dragged Jeri into the kitchen by the fridge, making sure that the two Digimon and Zoë were out of ear shot.

"You CANNOT leave me alone with Miss Italy to baby-sit those two! What am I supposed to do?!" Rika said angrily.

"Rika, I'm sure you'll do just fine," Jeri said confidently. "Gatomon and Renamon know they can't touch each other. Trust me, you'll be fine."

"Jeri, don't leave me here alone…"

"You're not going to be alone. Zoë's gonna be here. This is a great opportunity to get to know each other better. I couldn't have picked two better people suited for the job."

"That kind of kissing up might work for the goggle head, but it doesn't work on me," Rika growled.

Jeri sighed. "You're right. I knew you were too smart to fall for that."

Rika nodded. "Exactly, that's what … STOP THAT! You're still doing it!"

"Please say yes, Rika!" Jeri pleaded. "I really want to see Takato tonight. We might have something after tonight."

Rika sighed. "You owe me."

"Thanks, Rika! I'd better get ready now."

Jeri walked past Rika and through the living room straight back to her room, shutting the door behind her. Rika couldn't believe she was forced to watch over these two feuding Digimon. With Zoë, of all people. She wanted to be anywhere but here.

For Rika, Friday night wasn't looking so good.

-----------------------------------------------------

Davis carefully looked in the mirror again. He didn't want a single hair to be out of place and he didn't want a single flaw on his face.

"Davish? You've been looking in the mirror for over an hour."

"Wait, Veemon," TK whispered. "You might blow his intense concentration. His goggles could be out of place by half an inch."

Davis wasn't even listening. He stared right in the mirror and continued to fix his face. He wanted everything to be perfect for tonight's date… the date he had been waiting so many years for. His date with Kari Kamiya.

Ken suddenly walked through the door and saw Davis. "Is he still at it?"

"I didn't think anybody could look in a mirror for so long," Patamon replied. "Maybe Davis is just pumping himself up. He looks really focused."

Finally, Davis stopped looking in the mirror. He was convinced that he was good to go. He turned back around and sighed deeply.

"Well, guys… how do I look?"

Ken gave the thumbs up. "You look good."

Davis frowned. "Good? That's it?"

TK sighed. "You look GREAT, Davis."

Davis perked up. "Ok, I feel better. I'm ready to go! I can't wait! Uh… someone show me to the door!"

Ken opened the door. "This way, Davis!"

Davis closed his eyes and headed out the door. "AAAAAAHHHH!!!"

Davis ran out the door and started running down the hall. He made a beeline for the stairs. Unfortunately, he still had his eyes closed. All he heard was Ken whistle.

"Davis! Stairs are that way!"

Davis stopped in his tracks and opened his eyes. Indeed, he was going the wrong way. So Davis did an about-face, closed his eyes, screamed again, and headed for the stairs. Unfortunately, he didn't watch where he was going and…

****CRASH****

"HEY!"

… he crashed right into Takato, who happened to be walking out of his apartment at the same moment.

Takato sat up. "DAVIS!!"

Davis flinched. "Sorry. I guess I'd better watch where I'm going." Rather than risk seeing Takato angry, Davis got up and headed for the stairs. "Gotta go!"

Never did a staircase seem so long. Davis wanted to hurry and climb up. He was in such a hurry that he nearly knocked over Jeri, who was coming down the stairs at the same time. He had to hurry. He couldn't wait anymore.

Davis was in a hurry… because he was about to go on his first date with Kari Kamiya.

------------------------------------

Takato shook off the cobwebs and got to his feet. He kept reminding himself that Davis wasn't doing these things on purpose. But he was awfully clumsy and Takato couldn't help but feel that he had the worst luck of any of the freshmen.

"Takato?"

He didn't get the chance to dust himself off, however, because Jeri had already arrived. And that meant it was time for them to go out on their date.

"Hi, Jeri!"

"I heard you yelling. What happened this time?"

"Nothing," Takato muttered. "Just another minor run-in with Davis. No big deal at all."

"Ok then. Are you ready?"

Guilmon stuck his head out the door. "Ready as I'll ever be."

"Guilmon!" Takato snapped silently.

"Oh sorry, Takato."

Guilmon went into his stuffed animal act, freezing in place. Takato lifted the heavy Digimon over his shoulders and started carrying him out with Jeri by his side. They were ready to have a night they wouldn't forget for a long time.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Kari was feeling nervous. Only now was it starting to sink in that she was about to go out on her first date… since she broke up with TK. This was a huge step. She didn't know if she could handle it. But it was too late to think about that… because someone knocked on her door. Kari hesitated. She stood still. She didn't know if she could bring herself to open it. He knocked again and Kari felt herself freeze.

"Uh… Kari?" Zoë asked her roommate.

"Yeah?"

"You gonna open it?"

Kari shook it all off and reached over to open the door. And there was Davis Motomiya in his casually formal attire. Davis was the next one to freeze. He froze as soon as he saw Kari's pink dress that went down to her knees.

He smiled dreamily. "You look great."

Kari blushed. "Thanks."

Kari was wrapped up in this brief exchange. She couldn't make out the sound of gagging in the background, coming from Rika.

"You ready?" Davis asked slowly.

Kari nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

While not quite in the state that Davis was in, Kari was still looking forward to tonight's dinner. Since Davis wasn't moving, Kari made the assertive move and started leading him by the hand.

The night had just begun.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zoë watched happily as Kari walked out with Davis. Rika's mock gagging in the background didn't even bother the Warrior of Wind in the least, surprisingly. She shut the door once Kari and Davis were out the room and down the hall, a content smile on her face. She was happy for Kari. Unfortunately, since Zoë didn't have anything to do on this very boring Friday night, she was stuck in the apartment with Rika watching Gatomon and Renamon, something she was not looking forward to. Thankfully, the two Digimon were being peaceful… for the moment.

That's when someone knocked on the door. She answered the door and saw one of Rika's friends from home. That guy Henry Wong with the Terriermon for a partner. This whole Digimon-Tamer partner thing was still so new to Zoë, but the more she saw the DigiDestined and Tamers with partner Digimon… the more she wished she had one. Bokomon and Neemon were the closest thing she had to partners.

"Looking for Rika?" Zoë asked in a friendly manner.

"Well, we actually came to help you guys to hold down the fort," Henry sighed. He looked less than thrilled to be here at this moment.

"Takato owes us big time!" Terriermon scoffed.

Zoë smiled, the small Digimon's personality were a relief compared to the stiff Gatomon and Renamon. She let them in the apartment, leading them to the living room.

"Well, you two might have an easier time with this than you think," Zoë said. "So far, they've managed to keep to themselves… sort of."

Renamon and Gatomon had not moved from the opposite positions on the couch, both sitting with sour expressions.

Rika was in the kitchen, making herself a salad. She put her own sour expression when she saw Henry and Terriermon.

"Look who came to help!" Zoë said, but didn't get any kind of reaction from Rika, who continued to work on her salad.

"Good luck," was the only thing Rika muttered.

Looking a little curious over the situation, Terriermon jumped off Henry's shoulder and waltzed over to Gatomon and Renamon.

"So… how's everything going?"

Renamon and Gatomon just turned away from each other. Terriermon sweatdropped. But then it appeared that he had an idea. He walked over to the fridge and took out a bowl of pudding. He sat in between the two Digimon and started eating.

"You know, nothing gets me in a better mood than something sweet," Terriermon began. "Why don't you two have some pudding to calm you down?"

Zoë shook her head. It all seemed like a simple solution. Try to find a common interest between the two. But this sounded a little TOO simple. She couldn't help but be a little skeptical.

Terriermon handed the two Digimon a spoon and held up the bowl. Both of them took a scoop and held it in front of their faces. Gatomon ate first and savored the taste before swallowing. It looked like she liked it. But Renamon didn't quite taste it. Instead, she flicked her spoon, sending the pudding flying into Gatomon's face. Gatomon cleared her face of the pudding and snarled.

"Sorry, it slipped," Renamon said smugly.

Gatomon looked like she was about to lunge for Renamon, but restrained herself. She knew that if she threw the first punch, she'd have to leave. But she didn't take Renamon's taunting lying down. She reached down for a bottle of water that was lying on the ground.

"You look thirsty. Have a drink!"

The water splashed onto Renamon. Zoë's eyes widened, because the water on Renamon dripped onto the couch. Renamon turned beet red and tried to lunge for Gatomon, but Gatomon just grinned.

"Ah-ah-ah… can't touch me. You wouldn't want to be on the road back home, would you, Foxy?"

"I told you NOT to call me FOXY!" Renamon yelled.

Terriermon threw his hands up in the air. "HEY! Can't we all just get along?"

"NO!!" both Renamon and Gatomon snapped. Terriermon flinched.

Rika frowned as she looked at the rising tension. "You see what we gotta deal with?"

"Need some bonding time?" Henry suggested.

"Very funny," Zoë smirked. "You're already here, and if I gotta spend my Friday night listening to these two argue the whole night, so do you."

"You're not going anywhere, brainiac," Rika retorted.

Henry sighed. "It's times like this I wish Ryo was around."

A vein popped out of Rika's head. She grabbed the paper towel roll and threw it at Henry. It hit him square in the head. "I told you to NEVER, EVER mention _**his**_ name around me!"

"Who's Ryo?" Zoë asked curiously.

"NO ONE!" Rika snapped.

Luckily, before things could escalate, someone else knocked on the door. Zoë walked over to answer it and saw her two RA's, Sora, Mimi, and (curiously) JP.

"JP?" Zoë asked the Warrior of Thunder. "What's up?"

"Oh, I was just in the neighborhood when I ran into your RA's. Said they were headed over here so I just thought we'd come here together," JP said, a goofy smile on his face.

"Really?" Zoë asked skeptically. Something told her that JP had an ulterior motive. Mimi walked in the apartment, and saw Rika and Henry in the living room with Gatomon, Renamon, and Terriermon.

"Oh! Rika! I'm sorry, I didn't know you were with your boyfriend!" Mimi said worriedly.

Zoë raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Excuse me?" Rika said slowly.

"That… isn't your boyfriend?"

"Henry? My boyfriend? You think Henry Wong is my… ?"

For the first time since she arrived at Odaiba University… Rika smiled… and started laughing. She had heard of people mistaking her and Takato for a couple, but it wasn't often that people mistook her and Henry. She found it rather funny.

Henry didn't. "I don't find anything funny about that, do you, Terriermon?"

"You WERE voted Shinjuku High's Most Eligible Bachelor," Terriermon pointed out. "I guess no one told Rika."

Rika smiled and finally contained her laughter. "Thanks, Mimi. You made my night with that comment. So what's going on?"

"We've got a little something down in the first floor in Tai and Matt's room," Sora answered. "If you guys aren't doing anything, we'd like to give you two an update on the situation at The Den."

Zoë remembered hearing that The Den was closed. "Update?"

"Come on down and find out," Mimi grinned.

With that, the RA's left. Zoë turned around and saw this as the solution to her problem. She wouldn't have to baby-sit Renamon and Gatomon for the ENTIRE night. In fact, her night's work was over.

So she cheerfully headed out the door. "You guys coming?"

--------------------------------------------------

Takuya couldn't take it anymore, he had to get out of his apartment and go SOMEWHERE. Koichi was busy entertaining his new pals, Kazu and Kenta, who were, apparently, Tamers themselves. He would've stayed and hung out with them, but the Warrior of Flame just had to get out and do something before he went crazy.

Even if that something was as trivial as walking around downtown Odaiba.

The campus was entirely too boring on this Friday night, and Takuya figured since this would be his new home for the next year, he should at least get to know his surroundings.

He had even thought about asking Koji to come out with him, but that guy was all wrapped up in his schoolwork. Takuya didn't understand the Light Warrior, sometimes. How could someone do homework, on a Friday?!

Whatever, he wasn't going to worry about that. Even if he had to find a new crew, Takuya wouldn't be considered a book nerd like Koji or a clinger like JP.

Walking down the strip of downtown Odaiba, Takuya saw a variety of all different kinds of people. The people hear seemed to be a lot more laid back than the people of Shibuya, which probably meant that nothing ever affected their daily lives.

That's when Takuya saw Davis and Kari walk into a restaurant. Not a real expensive one, but fancy, nonetheless.

The Flame Warrior slightly smirked at the sight, remembering the days when he and Zoë dated. He then frowned at the thought. No more 'him and Zoë.' As hard as he tried to not make it happen, Takuya always managed to let the fiery blonde sneak into his thoughts.

Davis and Kari looked to be having a good time. Takuya walked past the restaurant, watching the couple the entire time. The smug look on the other goggle boy's face really aggravated Takuya. He knew that one day he would start a trend on wearing goggle's on their heads, but it was something about Davis that Takuya just did not like.

**BUMP!**

Takuya ran into somebody, not looking where he was going. They shoved him off of them.

"Watch where you're going!" The person shouted, who was a pretty young girl.

"Sorry. My bad," Takuya apologized, but the girl shoved past him.

"Whatever! Watch where you're going next time or you're gonna regret it!" The girl yelled, not looking back.

Takuya couldn't help but smile in amusement. Although she looked much younger than him, Takuya couldn't help but notice that she was pretty cute while being angry.

"Duly noted!" Takuya yelled after her in a friendly manner. The girl continued to walk out of sight.

After taking another fleeting glance after the girl, he looked back to the restaurant where Davis and Kari was. They were now seated and looking at the menus.

Slightly frowning, Takuya continued to walk the streets of downtown Odaiba.

--------------------------------------------------

It wasn't until Davis left that TK was starting to realize that… there was nothing to do on this Friday night. He couldn't believe that he was about to spend his first Friday night in college… with Ken.

"So… any ideas what to do?" TK asked.

"I don't know," Ken sighed. "I'm sure we'll think of something."

Just then, someone knocked on the door. TK could only hope that it was someone with something to do. Ken walked over to answer it and he was pretty happy to see Yolei.

"You guys bored, too?" Yolei asked.

"You bet," Ken concurred. "But, where's Catherine?"

"She said she had something to do tonight," Yolei answered. "Didn't say where she was going either. And Yoshino was going to come, but she said she had a meeting. So I figured, 'do I know anyone who would be just as bored as I am?' and I immediately thought of you two."

TK blinked. "Thanks… I think."

"You want to get something to eat?" Ken asked.

"I tried eating already," Yolei answered. "But The Den closed early tonight. Didn't you guys hear?"

"Hear what?" TK asked curiously.

"There's supposedly something inside The Den," Yolei explained. "A lot of the food's missing. There are crumbs everywhere, so it's looking like something ate the food. Nobody has a single clue how the food got lost or even how anything could possibly break in there."

"My ears are burning," someone else said.

TK, Ken, and Yolei turned around to face the open door and see…

"You know about this, Matt?" TK asked.

Matt Ishida nodded. "I know this old story. As soon as we heard about what's happened in The Den, pretty much every upperclassman came to the same conclusion. It's… the OU Phantasm!"

TK scoffed. "What?"

Matt smirked. "What? You've never heard of the Legend of the OU Phantasm?"

Yolei thought about that. "I might have heard something like that in my freshman year. But that's just a silly story."

"There's nothing silly about it," Matt responded. "It's one of this school's biggest legends. I can't believe you guys haven't heard of it."

"What is this OU Phantasm?" Ken asked.

"Why don't you guys come up to my room and I'll explain the whole thing to you," Matt suggested. "I might need some help with this one."

Matt walked out leaving TK, Ken, and Yolei alone. They all exchanged looks… skeptical looks.

"He can't be serious," TK scoffed.

"We got nothing better to do," Ken shrugged. "Might as well hear an urban legend."

--------------------------------------------------

"So, you guys are gonna try and sneak your Guardromon in here tomorrow? I may not have the greatest knowledge about Digimon, but… aren't Guardromon pretty big?" Koichi asked Kazu and Kenta with a skeptical look.

Koichi met Kenta in his Public Speaking class, who immediately introduced him to his buddy Kazu. The three of them immediately hit it off, Koichi finding it extremely weird that he had so much in common with the two of them.

And when the two of them found out that he had a twin brother, they both saw that as the most amazing thing. Of course, when Kazu and Koji discovered that they had a class together (Koji not making the best first impression), that amazement immediately went down.

"We're not gonna TRY and sneak him in. We ARE gonna sneak him in. I mean, why not? The room's empty. And we've got no plans for tomorrow. Might as well, right?"

"But, how are you gonna get him through the door?" Koichi asked.

"The same way I got him through the door in my room back home," Kazu grinned.

Kenta groaned. "Kazu, don't tell me we're doing that again! It was hard enough doing that the first time."

Kazu walked over and opened the front door. "We'll talk about it while we get something to eat at The Den."

"You guys say you were heading to The Den?" someone else asked.

Kazu looked over to see that RA, Tai Kamiya, with the poofy hair. "Yeah. You want us to bring you something back?"

"Uh… not exactly. The Den closed early tonight. Didn't you guys hear?"

"Hear what?" Kenta asked.

"There's something running around inside The Den. It's been eating all the food and nobody can tell what it is. Nobody even knows how it got in there. But the upperclassmen know."

"What is it?" Kazu asked.

"It's… the OU Phantasm."

"The what?" Koichi, Kazu, and Kenta all muttered skeptically.

"You've never heard of it?" Tai asked. "Oh, that's right. You guys are freshmen. Why don't you guys drop by my room and I'll tell you about it. The other RA's and I are about to tell the story anyway."

Kazu turned to the other two. "We've got nothing better to do tonight."

Kenta nodded. "Let's go."

"Hold on, let me go tell Koji," Koichi said before retreating to the back of the apartment.

"Head up to the 4th floor lounge when you're ready," Tai said as he walked towards the steps.

Kazu was eager to hear about this OU Phantasm, even if it DID sound like a bunch of nonsense. He was always up for an old ghost story.

-----------------------------------------------

Takato pushed the shopping cart down the park's walkway, making sure to give Guilmon a fun ride. Even after all these years, Guilmon still got a kick out of riding inside a shopping cart. And Takato was having a good time, himself. So was Jeri.

Takato looked down and saw a downward slope. "Ready for a REAL ride, Guilmon?"

Guilmon nodded eagerly. "Ready, Takatomon!"

"And… GO!"

Takato pushed the cart over the hill and it quickly picked up momentum. The cart continued rolling along and Takato and Jeri both happily gave chase. The cart kept rolling until it slowed down and gingerly tapped a tree in its path. Takato and Jeri both stopped by the cart and as they panted to catch their breath, they looked at each other and smiled.

But suddenly, the happy moment was ruined by the sound of beeping. It was the sound of Jeri's pager. Jeri looked at it and frowned.

"Why now?" she moaned. "Takato, I have to go."

"But we were having so much fun," Takato said disappointedly.

"I was having fun, too. But… I need to go. I'll… be back on campus a little later."

Takato smiled. "Then, I'll see you back on campus?"

Jeri nodded. "Of course!"

She looked around and hesitated before making a bold move. Jeri leaned over and kissed Takato on the cheek. Takato, clearly taken by surprise, blushed.

Jeri turned away. "I'm sorry. I… shouldn't have done that. I'd better go."

More than anything, Takato wished he could have returned the gesture. Jeri had been his friend for many years and he had always considered her one of his closest friends, even AFTER she moved away from West Shinjuku following the D-Reaper incident. He wished he could have gotten the courage to give her a kiss on the cheek. He actually wished he could have done a little more.

But instead, he did the other alternative.

Nothing.

Takato only stood there as he watched Jeri walk away. She probably felt bad about what she had just done and he didn't want her to. He liked the kiss. He wanted to give her one of his own. Instead, he just stood there frozen.

"Takato? Are you ok?" Guilmon asked.

Takato nodded slowly. "Yeah. Great."

Not knowing what else to do, Takato just grabbed the edge of the shopping cart and started pushing it slowly down the walkway. The night was still young and even if Jeri was gone, Takato was still there with his other close friend.

He was still there with Guilmon.

--------------------------------------------------

TK took a seat in the middle of the 4th floor lounge. And it was quickly getting crowded. He was there with Ken, Yolei, and Henry. Henry had Terriermon with him and TK and Ken brought Patamon and Wormmon. Rika was also there and she was sitting between Gatomon and Renamon. Zoë and her friend JP were there, also, sitting behind Rika, Gatomon, and Renamon. Matt was up in the lounge along with Sora and Mimi. It looked like they weren't kidding about needing more than one person to tell the story about this OU Phantasm.

"I'm really curious about this, Matt," TK said. "What are we waiting for?"

"One more person," Matt answered.

And sure enough, there came Tai. But Tai wasn't alone. He had Koichi (who was holding Tigrismon, Zenithmon, Turtwigmon, and Azumon wrapped around his neck), Kazu, and Kenta with him. TK was surprised to see Terriermon casually wave.

"Hey, guys!"

Kazu and Kenta waved back. "Hey, Terriermon!"

Tai stopped in his tracks and turned to Kazu and Kenta. "You two know about him?"

"Kazu and Kenta are cool," Terriermon said nonchalantly. "They're also Tamers. And we told them all about the floor meeting, so they know about you guys, too."

"You two are Tamers?" Tai asked. "You two must hide your Digimon well. Because I didn't see anything."

"Mine's not here," Kazu replied. "He's still at home."

"And mine's pretty small," Kenta added. He opened up his coat and a small Digimon flew out of the pocket. "This is MarineAngemon." MarineAngemon waved cheerfully. "He doesn't say much. He's kind of mute."

"Just how many of you Tamers are there?" Matt asked.

"Eight," Henry answered. "There's us four here, Takato, there used to be Jeri, my little sister, and…"

Henry paused as soon as he saw Rika shooting him a cold glare.

"…and someone whose name escapes me at the moment."

"Nice meeting two more Tamers," Tai nodded. "But we'll get more acquainted a little later. Right now… we have a legend to share. Sora? Lights?"

Sora turned out the lights. Mimi passed a flashlight over to Tai. And Tai flashed the light on his face, just like as if they were sharing ghost stories.

Tai got the ball rolling. "There was once a student here at Odaiba University. He was a senior, a lot like me, Matt, and Sora. He was just a few days away from graduating. He had just gotten engaged and he had a great job waiting for him as soon as he graduated. He had a pretty good life. At least I don't think it could have gotten any better."

Matt took the flashlight next. "But then things started going wrong. His family was involved in a tragic car accident and they all died, except for his mother who was permanently blind and paralyzed. His fiancée was taking a flight to the United States, but the plane crashed in the middle of the ocean and she was never found. And the company that offered him a job after he graduated just went bankrupt and went out of business. He was still a few days away from graduating, but he didn't have anything going for him anymore."

Mimi then took the flashlight. "His friends tried to reach him, but he kept himself isolated. He went to the only place that would make him feel better. He decided to go to The Den and drown his sorrows in food. He sat in the corner and no one bothered to reach out to him. Hardly anybody noticed he was there, because a few hours later, The Den closed with him inside. He was stuck."

Sora took the flashlight. "The next morning, everyone went out to look for him inside The Den. But there was nobody there. He had completely disappeared without a trace and everyone assumed he was dead. But another day later, when everyone went back to The Den, the food was gone. There were crumbs everywhere and wrappers all over the place. The food had been eaten, but there was no trace of any signs of life. Everyone began to think it was him, still drowning his sorrows in food from The Den from beyond the grave. He didn't even have a name anymore. Now he was just known as the OU Phantasm."

Tai took the flashlight again. "After a while, it finally stopped. Everyone began to think he had just decided to rest in peace. But now with what's been happening lately, we all know that the OU Phantasm is back… and haunting The Den again."

**Silence.**

TK snickered. "Are you kidding me?"

"Matt, your little brother's laughing," Tai muttered dryly.

"I sense you don't believe in the legend?" Matt asked.

"I think it's obvious that I don't," TK grinned.

"I agree with TK on this one," Zoë added. "Come on now, a phantasm? That's ridiculous."

Tai glared at the freshmen. "Any other non-believers?"

Every single freshman hand in the room went up… and so did Yolei's. JP, on the other hand, was cowering in the corner. Zoë scoffed at her friend. "JP! Do you really believe that nonsense?"JP just whimpered before burying his face in his hands. Yolei laughed at the boy. "Come on, JP!" She exclaimed.

Mimi shook her head. "Yolei, you don't believe in it, either?"

"It just sounds silly. I can't really say I buy the whole thing."

Sora sighed. "They'll pick it up eventually. It's one of the school's most well-known legends."

"Just because it's well-known doesn't make it any less hokey," TK smirked.

Tai shook his head. "Alright, that's it! All underclassmen clear out! Go back to your rooms and… do whatever it is you were planning to do tonight."

TK could tell that the RA's were a little hurt that this urban legend wasn't being taken so seriously. But TK knew that it was all so nonsensical, anyway.

TK started heading down the stairs, but was quickly joined up by Ken and Henry.

"Can you believe those guys?" TK chuckled. "OU Phantasm… that's funny."

"So what do you think IS haunting The Den?" Henry asked.

TK didn't know himself, but he had one guess.

"Can you say 'rats'?"

------------------------------------------------

The time was here. The Digimon Empress was standing alone in an alley and awaiting for her communicator to go off. There was an evil Digimon waiting for the chance to bring about destruction to this city and she couldn't wait to see it. Finally, after she had just about lost all patience, the communicator in her pocket went off.

The Digimon Empress quickly answered it. "It's about time!"

"Sometimes, you can be just as impatient as Puppetmon," Datamon said from the other end. "Tuskmon is ready to go. Be prepared, for I am about to test my Digital Field generator. It's homed into the frequency of your communicator. Just hold it out."

The Digimon Empress held out her communicator and a Digital Field began to form in front of her. The big green Digimon with the striped horns began to come out into the Real World. The Digital Field generator worked, as Tuskmon was now here. But The Digimon Empress couldn't help but notice something on top of his head.

"What's this?" she asked curiously.

"That's a camera," Datamon answered. "We wish to get a birds-eye view of the destruction of the city AND of the DigiDestined, if possible. HEY! Watch it!"

"You aren't the only one who should be having all the fun!" Puppetmon growled into the communicator. "We wanna watch! Now get out there and give us all a good show."

The Digimon Empress chuckled. "I'll do that." She closed the communicator, and just as she was about to give Tuskmon the order of destruction, someone passed the alley they were in. And when she saw this someone, the devious gears in her mind began to work. It was the same careless and useless boy who had bumped her earlier. A grin formed on her face. What better way to start the night's destruction with Tuskmon trampling over that apparently blind kid? This is what you get for not watching where you're going," she thought. She looked up at Tuskmon. "Tuskmon! Attack the goggles!"

Tuskmon roared and headed down the alley, scratching the walls with his horns along the way, bee lining for the goggle boy. The Digimon Empress was in for a show and she decided to go and get a better view.

This would be fun.

----------------------------------------------------------

Davis was having a great time. Not only was the food at the restaurant ten times better than anything at The Den, but he was also eating with the girl of his dreams. The other thing that made him feel good was that Kari seemed to be enjoying herself, too. Davis knew the best way to top off this night and that was to go take a walk in the park.

Kari started twitching. "Davis… do you see a bathroom anywhere?"

Davis pointed at the nearby restrooms. "Over there."

Kari looked like she had been holding it in for a while. "Thanks. Be right back."

Kari rushed to the bathroom, leaving Davis by himself. Davis decided to take this opportunity to check and see how he was doing. He pulled out a small mirror from his pocket, which he kept in case of emergencies, and checked his hair. Not one hair was out of place. Then he checked to see if there was any food between his teeth, which there were none. Then there was the concern of his breath. He checked his pockets, but was distressed to discover that he didn't have any breath mints.

Suddenly, a blue hand reached out of the bushes with a stick of mint gum. "Here you go, Davish!"

Davis sweatdropped and looked in the bush. "Veemon! What are you doing here?!"

"I snuck out when everyone wasn't looking. I wanted to see you in action. And you've been doing great so far! I think she really likes you."

"You think so?"

"Of course I do! This night has been perfect, Davish. You haven't made yourself look stupid once and you've been a perfect gentleman."

Davis thought about that. "You're right. I've taken her out to dinner. I opened every door, pulled every chair out for her, and offered her the first chance to order. I didn't spill my food once and I actually didn't spill it on anyone. I feel good. I've done everything right! I feel like nothing can go wrong!"

Unfortunately, that's when things started to go wrong. Davis and Veemon both heard a loud and distressed scream. They turned and saw Takuya running like he was track star, being chased by a… Digimon. A pretty big one at that.

"That's a big Digimon!" Veemon exclaimed.

"Yeah, and its got Takuya on the menu!" Davis shouted.

"I think its time for action!" Veemon answered.

The last thing Davis expected on this night was to be fighting a big Digimon. But, yet here he was. So Davis pointed towards the horned creature and Veemon was off and running.

"**Vee Headbutt**!"

Veemon tried to strike the giant creature in his leg, but it didn't faze him at all. Dazed, the little blue Digimon fell back.

"I'm thinking we need something bigger," Davis noted.

Veemon shook off the cobwebs and got to his feet. "I hear you, Davish!"

****Veemon … Digivolve to … ExVeemon!****

The much-bigger ExVeemon stepped in between Takuya and the big, green Digimon. "Hey, you! Now you can pick on someone your own size!"

Takuya looked up at ExVeemon, a dazed expression on his face. Davis ran over to the other goggle head. "Takuya, get out of here! It's dangerous!"

Just as he said that, the big Digimon rushed forward to try and tackle ExVeemon, but the champion ExVeemon held his ground. There was a brief stalemate before the next blow was landed.

"**Vee Punch**!"

ExVeemon landed a furious punch that sent the Digimon with the striped horns flying back. But he quickly recovered and rushed forward again. It didn't look like he'd go down easily.

Davis couldn't imagine things going anymore awry. But that's when Kari came out of the bathroom.

Kari looked up at the two fighting Digimon. "How long was I in there?"

-------------------------------------------------

Puppetmon was enjoying this show he was seeing on the base's large monitor. There was nothing he liked better than seeing two Digimon just go at it. He had to give Datamon credit for creating his ingenious camera on top of Tuskmon's head.

"This is great!" Puppetmon shouted. "This is better than some of my favorite shows! Who says there's nothing good on TV?"

Datamon looked at the big blue Digimon facing off with Tuskmon. "That looks like one of the new ones our Digimon Empress told us about. It looks like we've run into one of the new DigiDestined."

"He doesn't look so tough!" Puppetmon scoffed.

Puppetmon got a birds-eye view of Tuskmon unleashing an attack of his own.

"**Horn Buster**!"

Tuskmon attacked and the big blue Digimon known as ExVeemon was knocked into one of the buildings. Puppetmon couldn't help but laugh manically at the senseless destruction these two were causing the city.

"This is fun!" Puppetmon squealed.

"Hey… what's that over there?" Datamon asked.

Puppetmon stopped his laughing long enough to look at the monitor. There was something else off in the distance.

It looked like someone wheeling up… a shopping cart.

------------------------------------------

After Takuya took heel and ran to somewhere safe, Davis turned his attention back to the battle. ExVeemon was thrown down in the street, knocking over cars and barely missing terrified people. He couldn't believe how long this fight was going. ExVeemon wasn't having it easy with this Digimon. In fact, he was struggling. Davis wished he could do something, but Kari was holding him back. There was nothing he could do.

"Davis? What's going on?"

Davis and Kari turned around to see Takato walk up to them, with Guilmon in a shopping cart. Davis and Kari just pointed at the big Digimon that was fighting ExVeemon.

Takato took out his Digivice and pointed it at the big Digimon. "Hmm…Tuskmon, champion-level. His main attack is Horn Buster. Where did he come from?"

"That's a good question," Kari replied. "We don't know HOW he got here. But we have to get him back to the Digital World! But, it doesn't look like ExVeemon is faring too well."

Curious, Takato pointed his Digivice at ExVeemon. "Hmm… ExVeemon, champion-level. I wouldn't want to get in the way of his Vee Laser attack. But he looks outmatched."

"He's just getting started!" Davis yelled. "Besides, it's not like you could help!"

Takato calmly took Guilmon out of the shopping cart. "We can help. Guilmon, you ready to show how Tamers battle?"

Guilmon nodded enthusiastically. "Ready!"

Guilmon charged towards the big Tuskmon and it looked like he'd be outmatched. But that's when Takato took out his Digivice and one of his cards.

"What's the card for?" Davis asked curiously.

"Watch and learn," Takato smirked. He swiped the card through the Digivice. "Digi-Modify! Digivolution activate!"

**DIGIVOLUTION**

****Guilmon … Digivolve to … Growlmon!****

Davis's jaw dropped open when he saw Guilmon Digivolve at the simple slash of a card. Now there was a much bigger red lizard in place of Guilmon.

"What is that?" Davis asked in amazement.

"That's Growlmon," Takato said proudly. "A champion-level Digimon. Wait 'til you see what he can do. Growlmon! Do your stuff!"

Growlmon stepped over towards Tuskmon and grabbed him by the tail while ExVeemon wrestled with the green Digimon's head.

"Hey, nice to have a hand!" ExVeemon grunted. "Should we send him flying?"

"Let's do it!" Growlmon concurred.

ExVeemon and Growlmon both lifted Tuskmon high into the air and tossed him towards… one of the local shops.

"Don't throw him there!" Davis cried. "It'll take months to fix that!"

"We've got to send him back to the Digital World," Kari said. Then she looked over towards another block. "And I think I know how! Be right back!"

Kari ran over towards one of the shops, which luckily wasn't in the middle of the fray. "It's an Internet café! Can you lure him over here?"

Davis knew what Kari was suggesting. She was about to open a Digi-Port and send Tuskmon back where he came from. But, Tuskmon had to be close enough to the port to be sent through. That would be up to ExVeemon and Growlmon.

Tuskmon ran at full speed and tackled Growlmon to the ground. ExVeemon came up behind Tuskmon, but was caught off guard when the green Digimon's tail came slamming down on the blue Digimon. Growlmon struggled to get the other dinosaur off of him, but wasn't having the best of luck. However, Takato wasn't out of the game just yet. He pulled out another card and swiped it through his Digivice.

"Digi-Modify! Hyper Speed activate!"

Tuskmon attacked, aiming right for Growlmon's face . "**Horn Buster**!"

But before his attack could hit, Growlmon kicked Tuskmon off with his feet, sending the Digimon crashing on his back. Davis was shocked.

"How did you do that?"

Takato grinned as he held up one of his cards. "It's all in the cards."

"Guys, hurry up!" Kari yelled from where she was at.

Tuskmon got back on his feet. "Jeez, this guy doesn't give up easily, does he?" Takato sarcastically said. Davis was ready to finish this. Something pretty extreme happened after that. The Tuskmon was shocked with a million jolts, shaking and roaring on the ground.

"What's going on?" Davis asked, but no one around him knew the answer. ExVeemon and Growlmon were just as bewildered as their partners. Tuskmon continued to be shocked, until he did a mighty roar and a burst of light blinded everyone in the area.

Once they were able to see again, a new Digimon was standing in the place of Tuskmon, causing everyone to gasp in shock.

"Who's that?" Kari asked. Takato pointed his Digivice at the new Digimon. "MasterTyrannomon, ultimate-level Digimon. His Master Claw attack looks pretty nasty."

Kari was awestruck at the much larger Digimon, who roared before smacking Growlmon and ExVeemon to the ground. "He Digivolved?!" She asked out loud.

"What else could go wrong?" ExVeemon shouted as he struggled to keep one of MasterTyrannomon's claws from crushing him. He looked over at Growlmon, who was struggling just as much with the other claw.

Takato pulled out another card, but frowned once he saw what it was. "This is useless!" He yelled to himself. That's when Davis became worried. "You mean… no more cards?" He asked worriedly.

Before Takato could answer, a flaming tornado came straight at MasterTyrannomon.

"**Pyro Tornado**!"

A humanoid Digimon with a long, yellow mane for hair came spiraling at the large Digimon, kicking him right in the stomach, knocking him right next to the Internet café.

"Who's he?" Davis asked, but had a funny feeling he already knew the answer. Takato, however, didn't. So he pointed his Digivice towards the newcomer. "Agunimon, a Hybrid-level Digimon. He's one of the Legendary Warriors!" A thought then crossed Takato's mind as he went over what he just said. He looked up at Agunimon. "Takuya?"The Digimon jumped in surprise, then turned to the others. "Shh! You can't give away my identity!" Said Agunimon, putting a finger to his mouth, shushing the other goggle boy.

Their attention was turned back to the battle when MasterTyrannomon threw a car at ExVeemon.

"**Dragon Slash**!" Growlmon jumped up and slashed the car in half. Agunimon straightened up his posture. "No time for chitchat now, guys!" He said before running to the already three battling Digimon.

ExVeemon and Growlmon were both thankful for the newcomer. ExVeemon, more than anybody. "I can't believe I'm about to fight alongside THE Legendary Warrior of Fire! This is unreal!" Davis frowned at his Digimon's antics. "ExVeemon! Less idolizing, more butt whooping!" He yelled to his partner, who smiled sheepishly before being knocked in the ground by MasterTyrannomon's claws. "**Master Claw**!" The large Digimon roared. Agunimon and Growlmon both rushed the large dinosaur. "Time to end this!" Growlmon yelled before tackling MasterTyrannomon simultaneously with Agunimon.

"Digi-Port open!" Kari cried when she knew the Digimon were close enough to the café computers to send the ultimate-level Digimon back to the Digital World.

With the Digi-Port now open, it was a simple matter of sending MasterTyrannomon through it. But, now they had to get MasterTyrannomon towards the port. For that, Agunimon, ExVeemon, and Growlmon brought out the big guns.

"**Pyro Punch**!"

"**Vee Laser**!"

"**Pyro Blaster**!"

MasterTyrannomon was stunned by the sudden combination of attacks and was sent stumbling back towards the Internet café. And with the Digi-Port open, he fell through and was sent back to the Digital World.

Kari sighed in relief, happy that the battle was finally over. "He was tough," she said. Agunimon got to his feet. "Hopefully, that's the last we'll see of him," the Digimon said. She looked up at the Digimon in awe, unable to believe that that was the same person from her Calculus class. She wanted to address him as his human name, but knew that he would just dodge the subject.

Takato was less subtle. "Wow! I can't believe it! One of the actual Legendary Warriors! I never thought I'd get a chance to meet any one you," the boy exclaimed, making Agunimon scratch his head in embarrassment. "I didn't know you were such a big fan," Agunimon replied.

Davis was not impressed. Maybe if he didn't know who was behind all the armor, than he probably would've been a little more excited to see this ancient fighter. But, he wasn't about to suck up to Takuya. No way.

ExVeemon devolved back into Veemon, running up to Agunimon in excitement. "C-c-can I have your a-a-autograph?" the small Digimon asked, holding out a pen and paper. Agunimon smiled. Davis face turned red in anger. "Veemon!" He said before running up to his partner, grabbing the pen and paper and throwing it.

"Ahh, Davish, why did you do that?!" Veemon yelled in horror, looking in the direction Davis threw his pen and paper. "I may never get this chance again!"

"Have some pride, Veemon! Do you know who this is?" "Of course, I do! It's the Legendary Warrior of Flame, Agunimon!" Davis sweatdropped. "That's not what I meant." Before the two could settle the argument, Agunimon turned heel and began to run the opposite direction, away from Davis, Kari, Takato, Veemon, and Growlmon.

Takato and Veemon both looked distraught at the disappearing form of Agunimon. "Wait, don't go!" They both cried simultaneously. Davis grumbled something while Kari just giggled.

"See what you did Davis! You hurt his feelings!" Veemon retorted towards his partner.

"If he was a REAL Legendary Warrior, he wouldn't have run away in the first place!"

Takato slumped his shoulders in disappointment. "Well, there goes that chance," he sighed before looking up at his own partner, who was still gigantic compared to the small Veemon. "C'mon, boy. You know the drill," he said, beginning to walk away from Davis and the others.

"Hey, where are you two going?" Davis asked.

"Going back to the rookie level isn't as easy for Growlmon as it is for Veemon… It's just one of those downsides to being a Tamer. Come on, Growlmon. Let's get you standing on your head again."

"Aw, but that makes me dizzy, Takato," Growlmon whined.

"We can't go back on campus like this!" Takato shot back. "Now come on, let's go!"

Growlmon hung his head down and followed Takato towards an isolated area of the park. Veemon just waved cheerfully.

"Thanks for the help, guys!"

Davis leaned over Kari's shoulder and grinned. "Some date, huh?"

Kari wasn't in a jovial mood. "How did a Tuskmon get in our world? It doesn't make sense. And what's worse, it Digivolved! Without any type of partner. Something's seriously wrong. Let's tell the others about this."

Without a second thought, Kari was heading back for the parking lot. Davis couldn't believe his rotten luck. The date had now become nothing more than an afterthought to Kari. But he had to admit that she did have a good point.

How DID a Tuskmon get into the Real World? And how did it Digivolve?

------------------------------------------------

The Digimon Empress watched from the rooftop of a building. This battle was just full of surprises for her, and she didn't like a single one of them. She had anticipated that one of the newer DigiDestined were going to try and stop Tuskmon from its rampage. But, what she didn't expect was the appearance of some unknown kid and his Growlmon. Even worse, a Legendary Warrior had entered the fray! One of the actual Legendary Warriors… in the Real World!

That wasn't the only thing that bothered her. Tuskmon had somehow managed to Digivolve to the next level. Of course, Datamon could've implanted something in Tuskmon, triggering the Digivolution. But, he would've warned her of his tool beforehand.

Someone was interfering in on her plan. She wouldn't have minded if MasterTyrannomon had crushed ExVeemon, Growlmon, and Agunimon. But, no one on her side had made Tuskmon Digivolve. So that meant someone else was playing around behind the scenes.

The time was getting late. She had to go. Her mind was overflowing with thoughts, from how Agunimon got to the Real World, to how Tuskmon Digivolved to MasterTyrannomon.

"Someone's trying to interfere in my game," she muttered to herself before walking in the shadows. She would find this nuisance, even if it killed her.

----------------------------------------------------

Ten minutes had passed and Growlmon still hadn't devolved back into Guilmon. Takato shook his head. It was never fast with this sort of thing. They never DID figure out the secret to devolving and it was always a pain in the neck once a battle was over. Yet, that was another thing that bothered Takato. Why WAS there a battle tonight? Digimon hadn't come into the Real World since the disaster with the Devas. And that was six years ago.

"Takato?"

Takato's thoughts were instantly cleared. He turned around to see that Jeri had come back. Jeri looked at Growlmon. "Takato, what happened?"

"There was a Digimon running loose through the city. Didn't you notice?"

"No, I had to attend… a meeting. You mean there was a Digimon here?"

Takato smiled. "Yeah, but we took care of him," he started, but then his mind went back to Agunimon. "Takuya helped us, as one of the Legendary Warriors!" He exclaimed.

Jeri's face lit up. "Really?" "Yeah. I almost couldn't tell it wasn't an actual Digimon. He fought real well."

"That sounds great."

"Yeah… Too bad I can't get Growlmon to go back to the rookie level the way Davis can get ExVeemon to go back to Veemon, though."

"It's ok, Takato," Jeri sighed. "Hey, the night's still young, right? It's only 11."

Takato blushed as Jeri took his hand. Jeri, seeing how close she was getting, quickly released it.

"I'm sorry," Jeri backtracked. "I didn't mean to…"

"No… it's ok."

Takato smiled as he reached over and held Jeri's hand. The night WAS still young. So the two young college freshmen just stood there, holding hands… while Growlmon stood on his head.

It was as good a Friday night as Takato could have hoped for.

-------------------------------------------------

Puppetmon sulked by the monitor. He continued watching it, since the camera was still on. He knew just where MasterTyrannomon was going and so did Datamon.

"He's almost here," he said.

And sure enough, a few seconds later, MasterTyrannomon came wandering into the Server base. Puppetmon angrily got to his feet and reached for his hammer.

The large Digimon roared once he spotted the two. Puppetmon walked up to him, no fear. "Hey!" Puppetmon called up to MasterTyrannomon. "How did you Digivolve?!" He asked accusingly. However, it had seemed that MasterTyrannomon lost all reason as he roared and reared his head.

"**Master Fire**!" The monster yelled, blowing a stream of fire from his mouth.

Datamon and Puppetmon jumped out of the way. Puppetmon did not like this. He didn't like it when one of his toys went against him. That was one of the things that irked him the most.

"You feeling lucky?" Puppetmon growled. "Well, your luck just ran out! **Puppet Pummel**!"

Puppetmon attacked with his Puppet Pummel, instantly deleting MasterTyrannomon. The dinosaur Digimon may have been powerful, but he wasn't with them. Puppetmon knew immediately that someone was trying to sabotage their game. It was just a matter of finding out who.

Datamon shook his head. "This was not suppose to happen," he muttered to himself, walking away from Puppetmon in a trance.

Puppetmon just huffed angrily. Those new DigiDestined made him angry, but there was also the issue of that other guy. That guy that called himself a Tamer. He didn't know what those were, but he could tell he would grow to despise them. Not to mention the reappearance of the Legendary Warrior, Agunimon.

He hated those despicable Legendary Warriors for as long as he could remember, so he was going to take of Agunimon himself.

But, first, he would have to find this person who was making his toys Digivolve. They would be first on the list. And once Datamon released The Dark One, then the REAL fun would begin.

-----------------------------------------------

Marcus and his Uncle Willy walked in the Avalons large and spacious home. He had no idea that it would take so long to help and clean the rest of The Den, and he was ready to go straight to bed.

Uncle Willy put his keys on the key rack and began to head upstairs to his and Diane's room. "Don't stay up too late," Marcus's uncle said before retreating all the way up the steps. Marcus walked into the kitchen, hungrier than he had ever been. Opening the fridge, the young boy began to make himself a ham and cheese sandwich. All was quiet in the house, which meant that everyone must've been asleep. However, when Marcus saw his sixteen-year-old cousin Naomi Avalon sneak in from the back door, he was highly curious. Not to mention a little surprised. He jumped in a bit of a shock. "Naomi! What are you doing?!" Marcus demanded loudly, only to be shushed by his cousin. "Will you be quiet?!" Naomi whispered to him. She pointed to the ceiling above them, indicating that her parents didn't know that she was out. Marcus slightly smirked. His Aunt Diane was always bragging about how perfect her 'little girl' was. If only she knew how her angel was sneaking out of the house to do… whatever she was doing.

"Where are you coming from?" Marcus asked.

"None of your business," she retorted, quickly and quietly. She began to walk out of the kitchen, towards the stairway. Marcus could've let her go, but his curiosity was piqued. "Wonder what Mom and Pop would think if their angel were out without their permission," Marcus said, finishing his sandwich and taking a bite out of it.

Naomi stopped in her tracks, turning back to her cousin. She had a clearly visible frown of her face. "Look, Marcus, I know we've had our differences, but leave this one alone," she warned him, a very serious expression plastered on her face. Marcus was really interested now. What on Earth could make his usually happy-go-lucky cousin act this way?

Taking another bite of his sandwich, he dropped the tough guy act. "What's wrong?" He asked, more softly this time. Naomi still saw as him being nosier, though. "Look, just… don't ask anymore questions, alright?" She said, not even looking at him in the face.

Marcus didn't know what to think. He and Naomi had always had a weird relationship. Despite them being first cousins and close in age, they never have really gotten along with each other. Naomi and Marcus both went to the same school, Odaiba High School. But, Marcus's loner attitude didn't go well with Naomi's popularity.

She always had people around her, while he was alone most of the time. That was part of the reason why he had dreaded coming here so much. She embodied everything he was against. Giggling cheerleaders, loser jocks, and student clubs.

She turned towards him and gave him one more solid look, and with that… walked upstairs to her room.

-----------------------------------------------

Still in the teacher's lounge, Yamaki fumbled with his lighter again. Despite the late hours, he was still at the university and so were his two partners, who were both looking pretty tired. But there was no rest for the undercover Hypnos crew. With a potential mole out in Odaiba University somewhere, they would soon find the lounge to be their new home.

"Where is she?" Talley asked. "How long ago did you call her?"

As if on cue, Yoshino Fujieda walked in the lounge, looking just as tired as Riley and Talley were. "Sorry for my tardiness, sir," Yoshino said, addressing her superior.

"It's quite all right," Yamaki said, flipping his lighter again. "Any new info on Norstein?"

Yoshino took off her backpack and began digging through it. Ever since they heard of this boy prodigy, the Hypnos crew were closely monitoring Thomas H. Norstein. Riley and Talley already introduced themselves to him when they spotted him in the teacher's lounge, and Yoshino is attempting to get switched to one of his Psychology classes.

"He seems to have pretty heavy influence here at the school. Him and Professor Avalon, who teaches American Government, are holding a student seminar in the auditorium tomorrow," Yoshino said, giving Yamaki a teacher profile of Norstein.

"A student seminar?" Riley asked curiously.

"About what?" Talley added.

Yoshi just shrugged her shoulders. "Who knows? Probably just talking about this upcoming school year and such. However, I did find out that Thomas takes sick days the third week of every month."

That got Yamaki's attention. "Sick leave the third of every month?"

Yoshi nodded her head. "Not even the Dean is sure what's wrong. He isn't diagnosed with any type of disease, so it isn't too clear as to why he's taking sick leave."

Yamaki frowned. This Thomas Norstein was sounding sneakier and sneakier the more he heard of him. "Yoshino, I want you to attend the seminar he's holding tomorrow. Keep a close eye on this guy, we may have already found our mole."

"One step ahead of you, sir. My roommates and I are going to be the first people there," she said in a serious tone.

Talley raised an eyebrow. "So you like your roommates pretty much?" Yoshino looked at the other woman, a blank gaze in her eyes. Talley sweatdropped. This 'secret weapon' of Yamaki's was just that. All work and no play. How she convinced her roommates to go to this seminar thing with her was beyond Talley.

She shrugged as she reached over for the nearest remote control. She turned on the teacher's lounge's television. And Yamaki's jaw dropped open upon the first sight. It was a large green creature. It was a Digimon.

"_A monster was sighted in downtown Odaiba tonight, terrorizing the public and tearing through the streets. As you can see… it even tore through our camera."_

Sure enough, the Digimon's tail swung and knocked out the station's camera that was positioned on the ground. There was no more video footage.

"_While we have no further footage, the monster appears to be gone now. No witnesses were sighted in the area, but the city of Odaiba can now rest easy knowing that the monster attack is apparently over."_

Yamaki fumbled with his lighter again. He began to weigh the ramifications of what this meant. Time was now running shorter. The attacks have begun and he could feel that this wouldn't be the last one. There was no time to lose. He knew that he and his partners would have to work faster.

"It has begun."

---------------------------------------------------------

Takuya walked back to his apartment, a goofy smile on his face. Tonight was the first time in a long time that he Spirit Evolved into Agunimon, defending the weak and defeating the unjust.

Even though he was in the Real World and didn't want his identity to be revealed, it was fun being able to battle alongside Davis and Takato. Well, ExVeemon and Growlmon.

_The Goggle Squad_, he thought goofily to himself as he reached his apartment door. The one thing he couldn't shake out of his mind though was the fact that he HAD to Spirit Evolve in the first place.

What in the world was a Digimon doing in the Real World? He's never encountered something like that. Except for the time that Lucemon reached the Real World, but he was a Demon Lord, one of the most vile and powerful Digimon to ever have existed.

Opening the door, Takuya was greeted by an overly excited Tigrismon. "Heya, Takuya!" The Digimon leapt in Takuya's arms. The boy smiled at the small tiger Digimon. "What's up, buddy? What are you still doing up?" "I don't know. Not sleepy, I guess," Tigrismon replied as Takuya carried him in the kitchen. He put the small Digimon down and began ransacking the fridge. Tigrismon sat down and looked up at the boy in the fridge, his tail wagging like a curious pet.

"Man, did Koichi eat all my hotdogs?" He complained before pulling out a frozen dinner. That's when he saw something move from the corner of his eye. His head whipped towards the window, where a red flash had suddenly appeared.

Being blinded for a moment, Takuya didn't see Tigrismon run up to the window, a curious look in his eye. Takuya managed to get some of his vision back, and when the window busted open, the Warrior of Flame could make out some person with wings, silhouetted in darkness.

"Tigrismon, stop!" He shouted, dashing towards the window. The winged figure gasped in surprise, still covered in darkness. It jumped from the window before it could get any closer to Tigrismon or before Takuya could reach the door.

Once he reached the Lion Digimon, Takuya scooped up Tigrismon in his arms and looked down at the night sky. Not a thing in sight. The figure had just seemingly… disappeared.

"What was that thing, Takuya?" Tigrismon asked innocently.

The boy sighed before closing the window and locking it. "That was you almost being somebody's dinner. How many times I gotta tell you to not talk to strangers?" Tigrismon looked at the goggle boy curiously. "But, Papamon always tells me that. Not you."

Takuya sweatdropped. "Yeah, well, your Papamon left me in charge so I'm telling you now."Tigrismon giggled. Takuya frowned. Too much had happened tonight. The appearance of a wild Digimon, the mysterious assassin. He just wanted to go to sleep and dream nice things. Hopefully, nothing else will happen this school year.

He isn't sure if he could handle world saving AND school work.

-----------------------------------------------

Davis grumbled as he reached the door to his dorm room. He couldn't believe how his date with Kari could have possibly taken such a lousy turn. And for once, it wasn't even his fault that things went wrong.

Before he opened his door, Kari reached over and held his hand. "You know, Davis? Before the Tuskmon came and started going on a rampage… I was really having a good time. I'm wondering… you want to try again sometime?"

Davis smiled. "Of course, Kari!"

Kari giggled. "You know… maybe the night didn't go like I'd hoped… but maybe next time it'll go a little better."

Davis knew the one way this night could end perfectly. He reached over…to give Kari a kiss. Unfortunately, she pulled away.

"You know, I feel pretty tired. Maybe the whole ordeal tired me out. I'd better get some sleep. Call me?"

Davis stopped in his tracks and just nodded. "Oh… sure."

Kari leaned over and kissed Davis on the cheek. "Thanks, Davis. Good night!"

Kari walked towards the stairs, leaving Davis by himself to think about what just happened. It was obvious what was going on. Kari was evidently still a little unsure about going the next step with anybody. He couldn't blame her. Even Davis believed that she and TK would last forever. After breaking up from such a wonderful relationship, it was natural that Kari would be a little scared of getting back into a serious relationship. Davis respected that.

Of course… he also vowed to make Kari's inhibitions go away… in time.


	10. Saturday, Pt 1

Saturday was just getting started and Joe Kido was up bright and early to make his eight o'clock meeting. Going out for a Master's degree was never easy. Joe knew that, but he was willing to try anyway. He knew he had what it takes. Of course, time was running short and he was about to be late. And on this day, Joe was off and running, trying to get through the crowd of college students that were leisurely taking their time.

Joe turned the corner to get into the building he needed to get to, but he unexpectedly crashed into someone. Both of them dropped their books and belongings on the ground. What made things even worse was that Joe's bag fell open. Joe bent down to pick his things up and accidentally bumped heads with the other person.

Joe rubbed his head. "I'm sorry. I'm pretty clumsy. Let me help you with your stuff."

Joe scrambled to pick the woman's stuff up and when he stood up, he saw that the woman had a little something of Joe's in her hand.

"Is this your stuffed animal?" the woman asked.

Joe hesitated when he saw that the woman had picked up Gomamon. Especially since she seemed to be staring right at him.

"Strange, little thing," the woman noted. Then she put Gomamon down and grabbed her stuff. "Thank you so much, young man. You know, I feel like I've seen you before. Were you in the freshman residence hall the other night?"

"Oh… yeah, I was there. Do I know you?"

"Your friends might know me. I'm the hall's Resident Director, Layla Mackenzie."

Joe accepted the woman's handshake. "I'm Joe Kido. It's nice to meet you. And I'd love to talk, but I just remembered that I forgot to remember I'm late. Maybe I'll see you around."

Ms. Mackenzie smiled. "Maybe you will. Don't forget your stuffed animal, Joe."

Joe noticed that he nearly left Gomamon behind. So he quickly picked him up and got on his way.

Gomamon was getting heavier by the day, but he insisted on coming along every single day. He couldn't go on like this.

Maybe he'd talk with him when he got back.

* * *

Saturday morning was here and it couldn't come fast enough for Kazu. He was up bright and early [10:00 AM], knowing what he was going to do on this day. He was up and ready to go, but there was a simple matter of waking his roommate.

Kazu grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and splashed it on Kenta.

"AAAHHH!! KAZU!!"

"Time to get up!" Kazu grinned.

Kazu pulled the wet blankets off of Kenta and tossed them to the ground. He then walked over to Kenta's dresser drawer and opened it up.

"And that goes for you, too!"

MarineAngemon opened his eyes and shot Kazu a cold stare before turning around and lying down again. He was obviously as fast asleep as Kenta was.

Kazu picked up the sleeping MarineAngemon. "Come on! This might take us all day. So we've got to get an early start. Get up!"

"I'm up, I'm up!" Kenta growled. "Relax, Kazu. Guardromon isn't going anywhere. We have plenty of time."

"But I want to get back early. It's Saturday and I want to see what the night life here has to offer."

"Good point," Kenta agreed. "But do you really think we can get Guardromon in here? It'll take a lot of effort to get him out of your room, into the van, and into this dorm. It'll take… manpower."

As if on cue, someone knocked on the door. "Kazu? Kenta? It's Koichi. Are you guys awake?"

Seeing what kind of opportunity this presented, Kazu eagerly opened the door. And there was Koichi, a sleepy gaze in his eyes.

"I wanted to ask if you guys had any milk. Apparently, Takuya used all of it last night by making brownies."

Kazu grinned. "Hey, Koichi… we're glad you're here. What are you doing today?"

Koichi looked up in the air, as if trying to remember if had anything to do today. "Nothing that I can think of. Why, what's up?"

"We need an extra pair of hands," Kazu answered. "Kenta and I are about to head off to get Guardromon. We could use some help and having a real Legendary Warrior with us would make things a lot easier."

"What do I gotta do?" Koichi asked, a little bit more cautiously.

"Just help us carry Guardromon… how ever many pieces of him there are, anyway."

"That's it?"

"That's it. Nothing else."

Koichi gave Kazu an awkward gaze, not really sure if he should agree to this. Sure, him, Kazu, and Kenta were becoming fast friends, and he was really glad that they had asked him to come along for the trip. But, from the sounds of things, they only wanted his help because of the fact that he could Digivolve into a Digimon.

"Okay…" "All right!" Kazu exclaimed victoriously. "Then, let's all get in the van!"

"Can I change first?" Kenta cut it, making his way towards the bathroom that him and Kazu shared.

Kazu looked over to see that Kenta, who had just woken up, was still in his white t-shirt and sweatpants.

Kazu sweatdropped. "Oh… well… hurry up! We need to get going!"

Kenta scowled. "Don't rush me."

Koichi chuckled softly. "Looks like somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

Kenta grabbed a towel and shut the door behind him. Kazu frowned after his friend. "Either that or he just got his period."

* * *

Yolei walked in the kitchen of her apartment, sleep still present in her eyes. She had slept the night away and she could practically feel the good night's rest. _Guess this first week of school took its toll on me_, she thought to herself as she opened the pantry and pulled out some cereal. She walks into the living room, only to be greeted by her newest roommate, nineteen-year-old Yoshino Fujieda.

"Hey, Yolei!" Yolei cringed. Yoshi had taken a lot longer to move in the apartment than Yolei or Catherine, but she was definitely the most friendly out of the three of them. Yolei has sworn that she hasn't seen the girl frown since she got here. Not saying that was a bad thing, however. She would much rather have an overly cheerful roommate than one who was constantly angry.

"Hey, Yoshino…" Yolei replied groggily as she made her way to the living room couch. "Where are you headed off to?""To that seminar in the auditorium. Wanna come?" Yoshi invited, following Yolei all the way to the couch.

"I don't know. What's it for?" Yolei sat down on the couch. So did Yoshi. "Just like an informal introduction to all the students. You know I'm new here."

She chuckled as she listened to her roommate. She grabs the television remote, beginning to surf through the channels until she found some morning cartoons. "Yeah, but, I'm not. What do you need to go to a seminar for when you can just ask me?"

"I want to meet people. C'mon, Yolei! Let's just go and see if there are any cute guys there."

Yolei turned to the morning news. They were showing a segment about a large dinosaur attacking downtown last night. Yolei was pretty surprised to see a large Tuskmon throw a car off to the side of the street.

"What?" Her and Yoshino cried in unison.

Catherine walks in, an elegant nightgown flowing down to her knees. "_Bonjour, Mesdemoiselles_!" she says happily. However, Yoshino and Yolei's eyes were glued to the screen.

"The large monster has since disappeared and hasn't been sighted since. A few witnesses have even stated that three other monsters were the ones that caused the other's disappearance. No evidence of ANY monster has been found."

Yolei couldn't believe her eyes. Digimon were reappearing in the Real World after all this time. But, why? She didn't even know about the attack last night. And the three other monsters the news reporter was talking about made it even more perplexing.

Yoshino sat watching the next segment, which was about a convenient store getting robbed by some gang members. Nothing good ever comes on the news, Yolei thought to herself as Catherine came and sat down on the loveseat opposite them.

"You ladies had a good sleep?" She asked, completely oblivious to the news.

Yoshino caught her composure and stood up. "Ugh, Catherine, do you wanna come with me to this seminar in the auditorium?"

Catherine looked from her bowl of cereal. "Seminar? For what?"

"For new students! A whole bunch of people are going to be there."

Yolei sniggered, earning her a glare from Yoshi. She wasn't sure why her roommate was so deadest into going into to this little seminar, but Yolei was about to go back to sleep for a little while longer on this day of rest, most definitely. No way was she going to be running around to pointless seminars with Yoshi and Catherine. Catherine, however, was beyond excited to hear this.

"_Ouah_! I would love that! Let me go get dressed," she said before setting down her bowl. She stopped to look down at Yolei. "Are you coming, Yolei?" It was Yolei's turn to stand up. "No thanks. I'm telling you, Yoshi. The only people who are going to be at the seminar are the people running it. You guys shouldn't even waste your time." Yoshino frowned at her. "Ugh, thanks for the negativity, Inoue! You're such a scrooge!" Yolei just laughed as she headed back to her room, the thought of the fighting Digimon fresh in her mind.

* * *

The morning went by rather slowly. Everyone was up early, but they didn't go anywhere. Instead, this was the morning for Davis to tell TK and Ken what happened. Not only did he share what happened with Kari last night, but he also told them about what happened with the sudden appearance of Tuskmon.

"How did a Tuskmon get in the Real World?" TK asked.

"I have no idea," Davis answered. "I was in the middle of my date and I suddenly see Tuskmon running through the streets. If Veemon hadn't snuck out to follow us, I don't know what I would have done."

"So, Veemon Digivolved and took care of Tuskmon?" Ken asked.

"He Digivolved into ExVeemon, but… then Tuskmon Digivolved!" He said, making the other two's eyebrows furrow. "It was the weirdest thing I've ever seen. The Tuskmon started… like… crying sort of, and looked as if he was being electrocuted. A bright flash happened and suddenly, a MasterTyrannomon was standing in his place." "He Digivolved? Without a partner? How?!" TK asked.

"I don't know! I was just as stumped as you were. But, Takato showed up with Guilmon and helped out. You guys should have seen Takato! His style's totally different than ours. He was swiping some of his cards through his Digivice to battle. He used a card slash to get Guilmon to Digivolve into Growlmon. I've never seen anything like it. And that other card he used to give Guilmon hyper speed… it's like nothing any of us have ever seen before."

"Davish!" Veemon chimed in. "They weren't the only ones that helped us out! Agunimon came and made things a lot easier for both of us. I think without him, we would've lost that one. You guys should've seen him… Agunimon was so impressive with his fire attacks. *I* battled alongside the Warrior of Fire!"

Davis groaned. "Veemon, that was Takuya! C'mon, don't honor that copycat." "Watch the way you talk about the Legendary Warriors, Davish!"

"I can't even begin to think how a Tuskmon could have gotten into our world. Something's definitely wrong," TK thought.

"What's worse, it Digivolved without a partner. And the way Davis described it, it sounds like the Tuskmon was forced to Digivolve," Ken contemplated. "Who has that kind of power, though? To make wild Digimon to do that…"

"Maybe we should talk about this over breakfast," Davis suggested. "I'm pretty hungry."

"Can't do that," TK sighed. "I ran into Tai on my way back from the bathroom. The Den's still closed."

"You mean there's still something running around down there?" Davis asked.

"Knowing Matt and the others, they probably think it's that OU Phantasm," TK scoffed. "But that's just silly."

Ken got to his feet. "But there definitely IS something running around down there. And I think someone should go down there to investigate. That someone… should be me."

TK blinked. "You?"

Ken smirked. "I was almost hoping something like this would happen. This gives me a great chance to do some detective work! I can see it now. We can call it my first case. My first mystery, even. And every great detective starts off with a case like this. Think about it, guys! Detective Ken Ichijouji! I could be like Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Nancy Drew, or the Hardy Boys!"

"Hey, I think I heard of them," Davis cut in. "One of them has a really hot girlfriend and the other one uses rainbow-colored hair dye, right?"

Ken sweatdropped. "Not…THOSE Hardy Boyz."

"Ken, do you really think you can find out what's haunting The Den?" TK asked.

Ken reached into his drawer for a magnifying glass. "Of course. It'll just take a little digging, investigating, and ingenuity. But, I'll find out what's haunting The Den."

"Ooh, can I come, Ken?" Wormmon piped up.

"Of course! I'll need a partner and who better than you to help?"

Wormmon looked excited. "Oh boy!" He reached into Ken's drawer and pulled out a mini-sized detective's hat to put on his head.

"Very chic," Veemon grinned.

Davis looked over at TK. "Well… looks like Ken's got his plans set. What are you doing today?"

"I've got a date tonight," TK answered coolly. "I'm going out with Catherine."

"Did you ever tell Kari?" Patamon asked.

"Why do I have to tell her anything?" TK demanded. "She and I broke up. We aren't together anymore! I wish everyone would get that through their heads! I can go ahead and do whatever I want and NOT have to answer to her!"

"So you haven't told her," Ken smirked.

"NO!" TK snapped. "And why should I?"

"Because Kari told you about her date with Davis," Patamon pointed out.

"How could she not?" Davis shot back. "He was there when I asked her out."

Patamon shook his head. "I think you're missing my point. The point is, I don't know how Kari would react if she knew you were dating and didn't tell her."

"I don't have to tell her," TK insisted. "And who cares how she'll react. She's not my girlfriend. There's absolutely no reason for me to tell her."

"There's no reason for you NOT to tell her," Patamon shot back. "Unless you're scared of what she'll say."

"Ok, now you're being ridiculous," TK growled. "I am NOT scared of Kari."

"Sure you aren't," Patamon said nonchalantly.

"I'm NOT!" TK scowled. He turned to Davis and Ken. "I'm not!"

"Oh… we believe you, TK," Ken said with Patamon's tone of nonchalance.

When TK looked at Davis, the goggle boy just stayed silent. He knew there was no need for him to say anything, since it was likely that he'd say something wrong anyway.

But, Davis could tell that TK didn't want Kari to know about his date tonight.

* * *

Kazu, Kenta, and Koichi sat in the driveway of Kazu's parents house in West Shinjuku. After a few hours of driving, the trio finally arrived, only to for Kazu to discover that he had forgotten his key back in Odaiba. And with luck, his parents were out at the minute. So now, they sit in the van, waiting for their only hope right now.

Who came running up the driveway at that moment.

It was Suzie, with Lopmon on her shoulder similar to the way Terriermon is always seen hanging off of her brother.

She runs up to the van, knocking on the window. Kenta jumps in surprise. "Finally!" Kazu exclaimed before opening the door and hugging Suzie tightly. "What took you so long?!"

"Gimme a break. We had to take the train," Suzie said as Lopmon hopped off her shoulder and on the ground, her long ears flowing behind her. "So what's this all about, guys? Suzie has studies to attend to," little Lopmon told them, making the young girl roll her eyes at her partner.

Well, you see, we came to get Guardromon and bring him back to Odaiba with us," Kazu began to explain. Suzie raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean… don't you guys live in a dorm or something?"

"I've tried to tell him-" Kenta said, but was quickly cut off by Kazu. "Never mind that! We just need Lopmon to crawl through the small window underneath my kitchen," he said. "For what?" Lopmon asked.

Kazu eyed Suzie, who had noticed Koichi standing off to the side. "If someone would've let me finish explaining, I could've gotten to the part where I was going to say I left my keys and can't get in," Kazu said slickly, earning him another eye roll from Suzie.

"All you gotta do is go in through there, run into my room and open up the window? Can you do that?"

Lopmon sighed loudly, before walking away from the group. Suzie cleared her throat before grabbing onto one of Lopmon's long ears. "Hold up! Did you guys seriously call us all the way over here for that? Why can't MarineAngemon go?" She mused, causing Kazu and Kenta to exchange glances.

Kenta opened up his coat. "I guess that's not such a bad idea."

Suzie and Lopmon sweatdropped. "Rika's right when she calls you guys idiots," Suzie commented under her breath. Apparently, however, Koichi heard her because he has stifled laughs.

MarineAngemon was napping inside Kenta's coat the entire time. He stuck his head out and just shrugged. He realized that he had just been drafted. He tried hugging Kenta's face, but it was to no avail. Kenta just pulled him off and pointed him outside.

Lopmon sighed. "I might as well go with him."

Suzie frowned at her partner's suggestion. "Lopmon, you don't have to climb through that… frickin' window!"

"Suzie, watch your mouth! Besides, we came all the way here so… It wouldn't kill me."

The fifteen-year-old huffed. "Whatever. It's your own fault if something happens."

They headed over to the little window on the ground that led to the basement. Kazu got to his room's window and just stood there waiting. Five minutes passed and nothing happened.

"You think they stopped for a snack?" Kenta pointed out dryly.

"Hope not," Kazu answered. "Everything in my fridge is probably expired."

Finally, there were some sounds coming from inside Kazu's room. Unfortunately, it wasn't what any of them were hoping for.

"INTRUDER! **Grenade Destroyer**!"

****BOOM****

Before any of them could even react, the wall of Kazu's room was blown out. The dusty debris showered Kazu, Kenta, Koichi, and Suzie all over and the four of them were covered in dust. When the dust cleared, Kazu saw Guardromon chasing Lopmon and MarineAngemon around.

"Guardromon, STOP!!" Kazu shouted.

Guardromon stopped in his tracks and turned his head to face Kazu. Kazu stomped over to the champion android, obviously annoyed that his wall had just been blown to bits.

"WHAT… are you DOING?!"

"You told me to guard your room against intruders, except your parents," Guardromon explained.

That was Guardromon in a nutshell. He would do whatever Kazu asked of him. Unfortunately, more often than not, he would take Kazu's orders far too literally.

Kazu slapped his forehead. "I can't believe we're still having this problem after all these years. When are you going to do what I mean and not what I say?!"

"I am confused," Guardromon said.

"Never mind," Kazu groaned. "Let's just get you in the van. We don't have any luggage, so we can fit you in now. Let's go."

Kazu and Guardromon started walking off, but they stopped when they noticed that the other three covered in soot weren't going anywhere.

Suzie looked over at Kazu's room. "Lopmon, are you ok?"

Lopmon walked over and climbed up on Suzie's shoulder. The young girl frowned at the android Digimon. "That bucket of bolts! He takes his job WAY too seriously!" She yelled. Lopmon patted her Tamer's head. "Suzie, its fine. Nobody got hurt."

"MarineAngemon, are you ok?" Kenta asked.

Having been in the midst of a harrowing experience, MarineAngemon rushed over and clutched himself on Kenta's arm. Kenta turned his head slowly towards Kazu, looking almost identical to Suzie. Neither one of them looked very happy.

Kazu shrugged. "What? You think I'M happy about this? What am I gonna do about my wall?"

Koichi looked over at the missing wall and sweatdropped. "You guys, he does have point. You think we should do something to fix it?"

Kenta shook his head. "No time. We'd probably get caught if Kazu's parents come home. I think we should just leave."

Kazu nodded. "I agree. Maybe my family will just think it was an errant cherry bomb that went horribly, horribly wrong or something. But, still, we should go."

With that, Kazu walked Guardromon over to the van. The big android's weight would likely be a factor. The drive back would be a slow one, but Kazu wasn't in any rush. Besides, he needed time to think, because the hardest part wasn't over yet.

There was still the matter of actually moving Guardromon INTO the dorm!

* * *

There was no one guarding the doors to The Den and there was no one inside. Perhaps OU Public Safety was having a lunch break. Perhaps they were somewhere else, thinking of a game plan. Perhaps they were conducting an investigation with whatever facts they collected somewhere else. Or perhaps it was because OU Public Safety feared whatever was lurking inside.

But, Detective Ken Ichijouji was not afraid of whatever was lurking inside The Den. He would face whatever it was that awaited him inside, along with his faithful sidekick, Wormmon, on his shoulder.

"It looks empty, Ken," Wormmon said.

"Then that'll just make things easier for us," Ken smirked. "We can go in on our own. And once we're in there, we can go ahead and solve… The Mystery of the OU Phantasm!"

Wormmon pondered that. "All that's missing is the dramatic music for whenever you say … The Mystery of the OU Phantasm!"

Ken thought about that. "Yeah, you're right. We're gonna have to work on that. If we're gonna be famous detectives someday, we'll need some dramatic chords."

"Maybe even our own theme song. We should think about that after we crack this case."

"And to crack this case, we'll have to infiltrate The Den. Wormmon, can you go in through that little hole in the wall?"

Ken pointed down at a small hole in the wall that led into The Den. It wasn't large enough for any human to fit through, but it would be big enough for Wormmon.

"I'd have to watch my hat, but I'm sure I can fit."

"Ok, crawl in through the hole and unlock the side entrance. I'll wait for you there."

Wormmon jumped off Ken's shoulder and headed for the small hole in the wall (while holding his little hat in place, of course). Once Wormmon started to make his way in, Ken made his way to the side entrance.

Ken was all set to get to the bottom of this mystery.

* * *

A few days had passed since they arrived at Odaiba University. Of course, no one knew of their arrival. In fact, Impmon was beginning to think that maybe it was better that way. For one thing, it was nice not to have any humans bothering him. And second, Impmon had never eaten so much in his life. This place called 'The Den' was full of food and Impmon couldn't stop feasting. And he also enjoyed scaring off any of the humans that tried to come in.

"Hey, Calumon, pass me another pack of Twinkies," Impmon requested.

Little Calumon stuck his head inside the basket where the Twinkies were kept. He pulled out another pack and passed them to Impmon. It didn't get any better than this. Impmon had it nice and peaceful in The Den's kitchen, just indulging himself.

Suddenly, though, he stopped moving and so did Calumon. They both heard a noise coming from the dining area. It sounded like one of the doors was being opened.

"Thanks," a voice said. "Now, let's go see what's haunting this place."

"Ok, but if it's that OU Phantasm, I'll just hide under one of the tables," another voice replied.

Impmon got to his feet and ceased his eating. Humans had been coming in and out since yesterday and each time, Impmon tossed out tiny fireballs towards them. They didn't set anything on fire, but they were enough to spook the nosy people. But, something caught Impmon's attention. He heard the term 'OU Phantasm'. He wondered what that meant. Did that mean these humans thought he was some kind of ghost? He never DID come out into the open whenever he scared the humans here, so it was a very real possibility. And that left the possibility for some REAL fun wide open.

"What is it, Impmon?" Calumon asked curiously.

"I think we got humans out there."

Calumon took a bite out of a muffin. "What are you gonna do?"

Impmon smirked and lit a fireball on his fingertip. "I'm gonna have a little fun."

Calumon liked the idea of the word 'fun'. "Ooh, can I come?"

"Uh… you can watch."

"Yippee!"

Impmon walked through the kitchen cautiously with Calumon skipping along contentedly behind him. It was time for mischief. There was nothing Impmon enjoyed more than messing around with humans.

* * *

Ken slowly treaded around the abandoned Den, looking for any signs of clues as to what could be haunting it. He wasn't finding much until he reached a straw basket that was tipped over. Inside that basket was an empty wrapper of potato chips.

"Wormmon, hand me my magnifying glass."

Wormmon reached into Ken's pocket and pulled it out. "Here you go, Ken."

Ken inched closer to the wrapper of potato chips with the magnifying glass. That's when he made his first breakthrough.

"Fingerprints," Ken noted. "Do you realize what this means?"

"Those potato chips are really greasy?"

"Not only that, but with this, I have deduced that our culprit is a living thing. For as you probably know, phantasms and ghosts… don't have fingerprints."

"That makes a lot of sense."

Ken suddenly noticed another wrapper on the ground. It was from a discarded box of red vines. He looked over the wrapper and made another discovery.

"These are a different set of prints. And that means we have more than one culprit here."

"But, Ken, how could a human haunt this place?" Wormmon asked. "Wouldn't that be difficult? Well… unless they were midgets?"

"Wormmon, they prefer to be called 'little people'. And anyway, it HAS to be humans. If it was some kind of wild animal, then it would have attacked public safety or something. It has to be a human."

Just then, a small fireball fell between Ken and Wormmon. Both of them jumped back as the fireball quickly fizzled out. It came from inside the cafeteria's kitchen, which was pitch black. Ken reached into his pocket for his flashlight.

"Who's there?" Ken demanded.

"**OOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! I AM THE OU PHANTASM!! AND YA BETTER GET OUT OF THIS PLACE IF YA KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YA!! OOOOOOOOOOOO!!"**

Ken lit the flashlight and pointed it out towards the kitchen. "What do you want with this place? If you really ARE the OU Phantasm, then why haunt this place? Doesn't fast food sound a lot more appealing?"

"**HEY, WHO'S THE GHOST AROUND HERE?! YOU DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!! I'M THE ONE MAKING ORDERS HERE AND I WANT YA TO SCRAM!! **_**BADA BOOM**_**!!"**

Ken leaped out of the way of another fireball. Then he pointed at the wrapper on the ground. "I know you're not really a ghost! Your fingerprints give you away! Now come on out before you force me to do this the hard way!"

Another fireball flew out. **"BEAT IT!!"**

Ken dodged the fireball again. "Well, you asked for it. That was your last warning. Now I'll have to play rough!"

"**YEAH, AND WHAT'S ROUGH?!"**

Ken sweatdropped. "Uh… I haven't thought that far ahead yet. Give me about a minute."

That response was met with another fireball. Whoever this person was appeared to be very hostile and didn't want to give up the charade. Ken wondered how that guy could make fireballs like that. But he also wondered how he would go about flushing the fake phantasm out.

* * *

Wormmon watched the whole exchange from behind one of the counters, the one closest to the frozen yogurt machine. Ken looked to be in over his head, but Wormmon didn't want to come out and expose himself unless it was absolutely necessary. Besides that, he had faith in Ken. He knew he would flush out this would-be ghost.

"What's going on?" someone asked.

Wormmon turned around to see a little white Digimon with a big round head and big ears, who was casually eating a banana.

"Oh, that's just Detective Ken Ichijouji trying to solve the Mystery of the OU Phantasm," Wormmon answered calmly. "He may be having a little trouble right now, but you just wait and see him flush out whoever's back there. Watch and be amazed!" Then something hit Wormmon like a ton of bricks. "Hey, wait a minute! Who are you?!"

The little Digimon's ears shrunk. "Uh… me?"

"Are you supposed to be here?"

"Um… uh… IMPMON!!"

The Digimon started running. Wormmon knew he wouldn't be able to keep pace with this speedy little one. So he did things the easy way.

"**Silk Thread**!"

Wormmon shot out his Silk Thread like a lasso and rustled up the little Digimon with pinpoint accuracy. Seeing he was stuck, the little one cried out for help.

"Impmon! Help me!"

The so-called 'OU Phantasm' boomed. **"I THOUGHT I TOLD YA TO JUST STAY OUT OF THE WAY AND WATCH!! **_**BADA BOOM**_**!!"**

A fireball came flying out of the kitchen and headed straight for Wormmon. It landed on the Silk Thread, however, burning it off and setting the little Digimon free. The little one started running again.

"Don't let him get away, Ken!" Wormmon cried.

"I got him, Wormmon!"

Ken was quick to give chase. The little Digimon ran towards the dark kitchen and Ken followed with Wormmon lagging behind. Unfortunately, they all ran straight into the darkness. And that proved to be a recipe for disaster.

"HEY!! WATCH OUT!!"

****CRASH****

****CLANG****

****CRASH****

Wormmon didn't even know what hit him. All he knew was that there was a kettle on his head. Finally, someone managed to reach for a nearby light switch. It was Ken. And once the lights were on, Wormmon took the kettle off his head to see the little white Digimon and the alleged 'OU Phantasm'. It was another Digimon. A purple little devil that wasn't much bigger than Wormmon.

"I told you to watch," the little purple one said groggily.

The white Digimon cleared a banana peel from atop his forehead. "Sorry, Impmon."

Wormmon looked up at Ken. "I think we have our 'OU Phantasm', Ken. Two Digimon. Can we call this case closed?"

"Not just yet," Ken replied. He picked up the purple Impmon by his collar. "Alright, you're caught. How did you get in here?"

Wormmon was distracted with watching Ken try to pump this Impmon for a motive. So he obviously wasn't paying attention when the little white Digimon came up behind Ken with a fork and…

"**YEOW**!!"

…poked Ken in the foot with it. Ken dropped the Impmon and they both started running off. But the Impmon quickly stopped and looked back one more time.

"Here's a little going-away present. **Ba Boom**!"

The Impmon tossed another fireball at Ken, giving him a hotfoot. Then, he and the other Digimon dashed off and out of The Den.

"Are you ok, Ken?" Wormmon asked.

"Just a little sore," Ken responded coolly. Then he looked out towards the back exit. "They're gone. You know what this means?"

"Um… they've escaped?"

"Besides that," Ken groaned. "Those two might run with the same crowd as that Tuskmon that Davis saw last night. We've got to find them. They might cause more trouble. Let's go!"

Wormmon climbed up on Ken's shoulder. "Our first dramatic chase. I always imagined it would be this exciting."

"Just stay still, because we're about to head out into the open. Now let's get 'em!"

Ken was off and running again, heading for the back exit. That Impmon and his accomplice couldn't have gone far.

* * *

As soon as Impmon ran out the back door, he made a beeline for the nearby shrubbery. Calumon was following along, but he didn't see Impmon jump in the shrubs. When little Calumon stopped and looked around, Impmon reached out and yanked him in the shrubs.

"We'll hide in here," Impmon whispered.

Impmon and Calumon peeked through the shrubs and saw that human running around with the Digimon on his shoulder. He looked around before he continued running.

Impmon scowled. "Stupid human. I was actually having some fun, too. Come on, Calumon, let's see what else we can find around here."

Making sure to keep himself and Calumon hidden, Impmon led the way out of the cafeteria and towards another part of this enormous campus. There were young humans walking around everywhere. Impmon could only imagine the fun he could have messing with these humans. And if he kept himself hidden, they wouldn't know what hit them.

Impmon lit a fireball on his fingertip. "This should be fun. You think I can nail one of them?"

Calumon looked the other way and gasped. "Jeri!"

Impmon's attention was now diverted. "Jeri?"

Impmon looked the same direction as Calumon and, indeed, noticed that amongst the crowd that was walking… was Jeri, who was heading for one of the campus's buildings.

"Come on," Impmon muttered. "Let's see if we can follow her."

Impmon dragged Calumon by the hand towards the building. From the looks of it, it looked like one of the apartment complexes from back in West Shinjuku. All he had to do now was infiltrate the place. But, if he went in through the door, he would be spotted.

Then he found an open window in the distance. That would be his big chance to sneak inside. So he grabbed Calumon by the hand again and led him to the open window.

* * *

Kari couldn't help but notice the tension inside her room. And it had been that way ever since the Digimon had been discovered. Of course, the animosity wasn't between the roommates. It was between the two Digimon. Gatomon was laying on the arm of the loveseat and Renamon was on the sofa. Both were staring holes into each other and it had been that way the whole day.

Yolei, who came to visit Kari, couldn't help but notice. "Uh… is there something between those two that I don't know about?"

"They met a long time ago and they have some issues," Kari answered calmly. "But, from what I can tell, the main issue is that they just hate each other."

Gatomon heard that. "I wouldn't say I hate. I'd just like her a lot more if she was gone."

"Well, that's too bad," Renamon replied sourly. "Because I'm not going anywhere."

"Neither am I!" Gatomon huffed.

Once again, both Digimon crossed their arms and turned their backs on each other. Kari didn't know whether or not she could interpret this as progress, because this is the first time they had taken their eyes off each other.

"So… got plans tonight?" Kari asked casually, diverting from the tense scene.

"I think we're getting together to watch a movie in my room," Yolei answered. "There's no better time since my room will be empty."

"Your roommates won't be there?"

**Silence. . . **

Yolei sweatdropped. "Uh… out!"

"Okay," Kari giggled at her friend. "Why'd you say it like that? Is there something wrong?"

Yolei laughed nervously. "Wrong? What could be wrong? It's just… well… I shouldn't say anything! Forget I said anything!"

"Ok, this is making me curious," Kari replied. "What is it, Yolei?"

There was another moment of silence. Even Rika, who was sitting calmly at her desk with her head buried in her work, was now looking up with a hint of curiosity. Yolei was looking completely flustered.

"Kari… I really shouldn't say anything. You promise not to overreact?"

"Overreact? What do you mean?"

"It's because … … Catherine's going out on a date … … with TK."

**Silence. . . **

At that moment, Zoë walked in with JP trailing in behind her, the two of them laughing about something.

"WHAT?!?!" Kari shouted, getting the two's attention.

Yolei flinched. It wasn't often that Kari yelled like that and whenever it DID happen, it meant that she must have been REALLY angry. Rika maintained her position, watching the whole thing unfold.

"Kari, you promised not to overreact!" Yolei exclaimed.

"No, I didn't!" Kari pointed out. "I never said I wouldn't overreact! And why wouldn't I overreact?! I can't believe TK's going out with that French floozy!"

Gatomon knew what this was all leading to. She immediately put her own personal issues aside and rushed to her partner.

"Kari, calm down," Gatomon tried saying. "You have no reason to be angry. You and TK broke up!"

"He… CAN'T go out with her!" Kari cried, not having heard Gatomon. "And he didn't even tell me, either! Well, I'm gonna go set him straight RIGHT NOW!"

Kari got up and stormed towards the door. Zoë and JP watched her curiously. "Kari, what's the matter?" Zoë asked her friend, who merely kept walking past them. Rika hopped up and stood in her way.

"Excuse me, please," Kari muttered through gritted teeth. She was trying to keep her polite demeanor, but couldn't deny the anger she was feeling inside of her.

"And just what are you planning to do?" Rika asked, obviously not shaken by Kari's mood.

"I need to talk to TK!" Kari growled.

"And tell him what?" Rika pointed out. "That he can't go out with whomever he wants? I thought you said you two broke up!"

"We… did. But … you just don't understand! Now please get out of my way!"

Kari nudged Rika aside and stormed out the door. There was only one path for her now and it led straight to TK's room downstairs.

"Hi, Kari."

Kari didn't even notice Jeri passing by her in the hall. In fact, she nearly bumped her. Kari was blinded now. And she wouldn't be able to see again until she cleared this whole thing up with TK.

* * *

Rika just shook her head and closed the door, but before she could close it, Jeri walked in.

"Is it me, or is Kari in a really bad mood?" Jeri asked.

"Oh my goodness, I'm glad someone said something before I did," Zoë said, looking over at Rika. "What's with her?"

Rika turned her gaze on Yolei. "I thought she broke up with him!"

"She did," Yolei replied.

"I thought she didn't like him anymore!"

"She doesn't."

"Then what is her problem?" Rika demanded.

"It's just that… well… I don't think you guys would understand."

"Try us," Zoë chimed in. "If we're going to be Kari's roommates and her friends, then she has to be able to confide in us. Maybe we can help."

"It's one of those things she'll have to tell you herself when she's ready," Yolei said. "But in the meantime… maybe we should let her deal with this herself."

Rika looked over at the solid door and scowled. She couldn't believe anyone could be so ridiculous. Kari was angry over nothing. Apparently, she didn't understand the whole concept of a 'breakup'.

And if it was that same TK she met the other day…then she felt rather sorry for him. He seemed like a nice enough guy. He didn't deserve the ordeal he was about to face.

* * *

TK was casually bouncing a foam ball off the wall while lying back on the living room couch, watching a basketball game on television. Davis was finishing up a paper with Veemon looking over his shoulder while Patamon was taking a nap. Ken and Wormmon were still out being detectives and trying to solve this case of the OU Phantasm.

The calmness of the room was broken when someone knocked. Davis put his paper aside and went to answer the door.

Davis smiled. "Hi, Kari!"

Kari didn't return the smile. She didn't look happy. "Davis… can I speak to TK alone for a second? I'm sorry if you're busy, but I'll make it up to you… later."

Davis looked over at his desk. "Well… I was working on a paper… but for you, anything. I'll be take it in my room."

Davis gathered up his things at the desk and walked back into his individual room, shutting the door behind him. Kari then shot a glance at Veemon. Veemon took the hint and walked right behind Davis in his room. She then looked over at Patamon and concluded that the sleeping little Digimon wouldn't be nosing in this conversation.

Then she focused on TK… and she gave him an angry stare.

"Something wrong?" TK asked, having no idea what to expect.

"So when were planning to tell me?!" Kari demanded.

"Tell you what?" TK asked unknowingly.

"That you were going out on a date with Catherine?! How could you?! You're dating again so soon?!"

"Hey, wait a minute!" TK protested. "What do you mean 'Am *I* dating again so soon'?! You just went out on a date last night, or did you forget that?!"

"T-T-That's different!" Kari stammered. "Davis is my friend! We're just friends!"

"Yeah, and Catherine's MY friend!" TK shot back. "WE'RE friends, too! Why are you so angry about this?!"

Patamon sleepily lifted his head. "What's going on?"

"NOW look what you did!" TK growled. "You woke him up! I hope you're happy!"

"I'm NOT happy!" Kari cried. "I can't believe you're already going out with some girl you hardly know! We dated for five years, TK! Been everything to each other for so long! It's like I meant nothing to you! You didn't even bother to tell me you were going out! It didn't take you long to forget about me, did it, Takeru?!"

This was serious. Kari never called him by his full first name unless it was something totally serious. She was really upset about this.

But, TK was also looking at this from another perspective. Kari was out of control. She had no reason to be this upset at all. Kari had already begun the process of moving on and she wanted to deny TK that same opportunity. It wasn't fair.

"WE … BROKE … UP!" TK shouted, emphasizing each word. "And that means it's time for me to move on! I don't have to answer to you anymore! And if I want to go out with a beautiful girl like Catherine, then I WILL!" That's when he grinned smugly. "Don't tell me you're JEALOUS!"

Kari gasped. She gave him the meanest look she could possibly give him …

****SMACK****

…before slapping the grin off his face and the taste out of his mouth.

"FINE! Go out with her!" Kari shouted. "See if I care!"

Kari turned around to stomp away. She then stopped, turning heel and walking up to Davis's door. She knocks, and he slowly answers, a look of concern on his face.

"Is everything ok?" he asked.

Kari hesitated for a moment. She had a look of uncertainty on her face. But, that's when she made a bold move, one she didn't even appear to be sure of. She grabbed Davis's head and planted a deep kiss on his lips before walking out. TK was stunned. Davis was also stunned, but in a different way. It looked like a big dream had come true for him. Patamon waved a hand in front of Davis's face and got no reaction. The goggle boy was in a zombie-like state.

"Whoa… I think he's out of it," Patamon thought.

TK couldn't believe it. She boldly kissed Davis RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM. It was the lowest thing a person could have done, which bothered him since it came from Kari. Never did he think she was capable of doing something like that. It was so unlike her. And from the look on her face after she had done it, it looked like she realized that as well. Did his upcoming date bother her that much?

Then, he shrugged all that off. If it bothered her, he didn't care. It was HIS date and HIS life and he refused to let Kari Kamiya control him.

* * *

Impmon crept over to the open window. It was a simple matter of peering over the windowsill to see if anyone was in there. There were two guys in there, but they were too distracted playing video games to notice.

"Keep quiet so they don't see you," Impmon whispered.

With that in mind, he gave Calumon a boost inside. Then he climbed in himself. They crawled by the wall while the two humans started arguing.

"Takuya, why are you cheating?

"What are you talking about? I'm doing everything you're doing?"

"You have 450 and I only have 87!"

"Face it, Koji. You can't beat me."

They would never notice them. In fact, Impmon felt like taking advantage of the guy with the goggles by giving him a hotfoot. But, he knew he had to get out of there and find Jeri. But that's when something unexpected happened.

"HEY! KOJI!"

Something else cried out. Impmon didn't even get to see what it was before he was spotted by the humans.

The goggled one jumped up out of the sofa and saw Impmon and Calumon. "Huh?! MORE Digimon?!"

Impmon went with his best line of defense. "**Bada Boom**!"

Impmon tossed a fireball on the ground, sending the goggle boy jumping out of the way. Before anyone else could get in his way, Impmon dragged Calumon out the open door and ran down the hall.

Unfortunately, he didn't watch where he was going, because he went on …

"HEY!"

… to bump into someone. It just happened to be a familiar face.

Calumon recognized him. "Takato!"

Impmon couldn't believe it, but it really was Takato Matsuki. Of all the people to bump into…

Takato gasped. "Calumon?! Impmon?!"

Suddenly, one of the other guys staying in the hall came out. Takato quickly ran in front of the two Digimon.

"What's going on?" the guy asked.

"Oh… I just had some more stuffed animals lying around," Takato said nervously.

Taking the hint, Impmon and Calumon froze and went into a stuffed animal act.

The guy went back into his room. "Ok, but you have a lot of stuffed animals."

Once the guy was in, Takato turned back around. "How did you guys…?!"

Before Takato could even finish asking his question, the other two guys caught up to them.

The guy with the blue hair panted. "Takato! Digimon!"

"Relax," Takato said calmly. "I know these two. Let's go to my room and I'll introduce you."

Impmon sweatdropped. It looked like he'd be getting better acquainted with more humans. This wasn't what he had in mind at all when he got here.


	11. Saturday, Pt 2

Marcus had a severe frown on his face as he stood around the crowds of students and teachers, next to Willy and Naomi. This seminar had gone on longer than he had expected, and the more he spent at this university, the more he hated it. The Den had been closed, and it was one of his very rare days off, which he was trying to use this time to go do something active. But, here he was, stuck at this seminar his aunt was speaking at.

"How much longer do we have to be here?" He asked his uncle, who put his hand firmly on his nephew's shoulder. "Now, now, Marcus. Diane just has to do a few meet-and-greets and then we're on our way," Willy replied, his ever-present grin on his face.

Naomi sighed, as her cell phone beeped. She took it out her purse and looked at it, a frown forming on her face. Ever since Marcus caught her creeping in after curfew, Naomi has been avoiding any type of communication with him. Not that he really cared, though, but if she ever tried to do anything underhanded to him, he would have a least a little leverage over her.

Putting her phone back, Naomi looked over to see her mother walking towards the three of them. "There's Mom," she said, waving her hands in the air. Diane was walking towards them, a large smile on her face. Walking next to her was a kid about Marcus's age with blonde hair and some type of key chain being worn around his neck.

Once she reached them, Diane gave each one of them a hug, even her nephew. "Sorry, hope it wasn't too long of a wait," she apologized. Willy leaned over and gave his wife a peck on the lips. "You were great, sweetheart." Everyone's gaze fell on the silent newcomer, who waved once he realized the attention was placed upon him.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Willy, this is the Professor Norstein I was telling you about," Diana said excitedly, eyeing her daughter as she said this. Uncle Willy gasped and shook the boy's hand with pride. "Oh my goodness, Professor Norstein, it is such a pleasure to finally meet you!"

"Professor?" Marcus and Naomi said in unison. Marcus looked over at his cousin, who was obviously equally as confused as he was. This guy couldn't have been older than sixteen- or seventeen-years-old, yet Aunt Diane was referring to him as professor every time she spoke of him.

"Naomi, Marcus… this is a colleague of mine, Professor Thomas H. Norstein!" Diane said proudly, making the blonde boy blush somewhat. "Please, you speak too highly of me," he said meekly. Naomi raised an eyebrow, not sure what they were meeting this guy for. Until her mother grabbed her and Thomas by the shoulders.

"You know, Professor Norstein is the same age as you Marcus. Graduated from Stockholm Royal University of Science when he was only fourteen-years-old!" Marcus wasn't impressed the least bit. Sure, he has book smarts, but this guy looked like he couldn't even throw a punch. "Wow, impressive," Naomi said in a trance-like state as she shook Thomas's hand. Diane smiled widely as her daughter and Thomas looked each other in the eyes.

"You must be Naomi," he said, making the girl giggle slightly.

"I must be."

"I've heard a lot about you."

"Really?"

"Your mother is always talking about her 'perfect little angel'."

Marcus rolled his eyes. He knew what was up. His aunt was hoping that Naomi and Thomas would hit it off, being the perfect suitor for her seemingly 'perfect' daughter. He tried his best to not laugh as he looked at the milling people surrounding them.

"Mom…" Naomi growled under breath at her mother. "What?" Diane whined, "I can't help it if I'm proud of you." She wiped a smear off Naomi's face, making the girl jerk her head quickly away.

"Don't worry… My mother would've done the same thing," Thomas commented, a somewhat sad look coming into his eyes. This didn't go unnoticed by Naomi, but she decided against pressing further.

Before any of them could continue the conversation, two girls walked up behind Diane and Thomas. One had short, red hair with the same keychain around her neck that Thomas had, only a different color. The short-haired girl tapped Thomas on the shoulder, catching his attention. He turned around, smiling. "Professor Norstein?" She asks meekly, before Thomas waved his hand dismissively. "Please, call me Thomas. What can I do for you?" But, then, the girl's eyes fell on the keychain hanging around his neck. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. Marcus and everyone around noticed, even the girl's companion, who was a pretty blonde girl.

The blonde girl nudged her friend. "Yoshi, what is it?"

The red-head said nothing, only stared Thomas right in the eyes, who did the same. "Umm, nothing, Catherine. We're leaving," she said as she quickly walked away. The blonde, who apparently had a thick, French accent, followed after her friend. "But, why? I thought-"

Diane laughed nervously and looked at her husband. "I swear, it's never the same day twice." Thomas continued to look after the girls' retreating form, his eyes still narrowed. "Indeed," he said quietly.

Another moment of silence before Willy whispered in his wife's ear. The woman gasped in remembrance. "Oh, Willy, you're right! We better get going!" She turned to Thomas, who was still looking a little disturbed at the exchange he had with the girl. "Professor, we better get going. My father is coming back into town, and we have to pick him from the airport."

Marcus and Naomi both exchanged surprised glances, neither knowing how to react to this. Their grandfather had been gone for about five years, no one in the family having any contact with for years. To hear his aunt say that they have to pick him up was a shock in itself.

"I better be going, too," Thomas said before shaking Diane's hand. He shakes the rest of their hands, stopping on Naomi. "It was a pleasure meeting you."

Naomi blushes somewhat, smiling widely. "You too."

He nods, bids another farewell to the family as a whole, before making his way through the throngs of people. Marcus's mind was on something else, however. "Grandpa Homer is coming? HERE?" He asked in excitement, but his aunt quickly shushed him.

"Don't worry about that. You guys will be able to see him later tonight."

**

* * *

**

Takato looked out into the hallway. "Nobody here." Then he closed the door. "So I guess it's just us."

He looked around to examine the scene. Koji and Takuya were sitting on the floor right in front of Impmon. Hyperactive Calumon was running around the room, trying to burn off some of that sugar rush. Takato was wishing he had Henry around, because he knew he would have trouble explaining this by himself.

"Um… Takuya, Koji… this is Impmon and that's Calumon."

"How many more Digimon do you Tamers have?" Takuya asked.

"What do you mean by that?" Impmon demanded. "You think I BELONG to one of them? You don't even know, do you? Stupid human."

"Impmon isn't one of our Digimon," Takato clarified. "We met him six years ago when he ran away from his Tamers. He was … … a friend. But, what are you doing here, Impmon? I thought you were back in West Shinjuku."

"I don't appreciate being left behind," Impmon growled. "Why didn't anyone tell me you were all leaving until the last minute? I guess you guys were gonna send me a postcard."

"I thought Rika and Renamon would tell you earlier," Takato answered. "I guess they never got around to it. Are you… angry?"

"What do you think?!" Impmon demanded.

"You guys never told him you were leaving?" Koji asked. "If all my friends didn't tell me they were moving away, I'd be pretty upset too."

"HEY!" Impmon snapped. "Those humans ain't friends! I ain't friends with humans!"

Takato shook his head. "Don't listen to him. Deep down, he really likes us."

Impmon lit a fireball on his fingertip. "Take that back!"

Calumon, still running around, paused to blow out the fireball like a candle. Then he resumed running around the room. He kept running while Guilmon tried to chase after him.

"What's with him?" Takuya asked. "He's pretty hyper."

Calumon stopped in front of Takato and looked at his new friends. "My name's Calumon!"

Takato picked Calumon up. "He's another friend we met six years ago. He didn't belong to anybody and actually… he doesn't have a Tamer. When I first met Calumon, he was just looking for someone to play with. It turns out that there was a lot more to him than we first thought."

"And what's that?" Koji asked.

Takato was about to tell them about Calumon holding the secret of the Shining Digivolution. But, before he could say anything, someone knocked on his door. He started to think it was Henry, but he was studying for some test he had on Monday in the library.

Curiously, Takato walked over to answer the door, but he found… Ken and Wormmon, who were both wearing a brown detective's hat and cloak.

"Sorry to bother you Takato, but we were …?"

Ken paused when he saw Impmon. Calumon leaped out of Takato's arms and rushed to hide under his bed. Impmon lit a fireball on his fingertip.

"Ya don't know when to give up, do ya?" Impmon sneered.

Takato calmly stepped between Ken and Impmon. "Is there something I should know?"

"THAT'S your OU Phantasm!" Ken shouted. "He's been the one haunting The Den!"

"How'd you come up with that?" Takuya asked curiously.

Ken smirked. "My superior detective skills."

Takuya just laughs as Koji rolls his eyes.

Wormmon jumped off Ken's shoulder and crawled under Takato's legs towards Impmon. "All we want are some answers. Why did you haunt The Den? Why did you scare everybody who went in there?"

"I was trying to have some fun," Impmon answered. "At least until I found one of these guys."

Ken shot Takato a glance. "You know him?"

"Impmon's a friend," Takato answered. "I guess he just wanted to come look for us and so did Calumon over there. It's too bad I can't keep them in here. Maybe Rika and Jeri can keep them around."

"Hey! You think they might be able to play peacekeeper between Gatomon and Renamon?" Takuya asked.

Takato sweatdropped. "Impmon? Peacekeeper? I highly doubt that."

"Um, standing right here, just to let ya know," Impmon growled.

Calumon came out from under the bed. "Can I play peacekeeper?"

Takato smiled. "Calumon, on the other hand, might be able to help us." He bent down to look the little Digimon in the eye. "Can you make sure that Renamon and Gatomon don't fight?"

"Sure! Uh… who's Gatomon?"

"You'll meet her in a little bit," Takato replied. "I'll take you up to Rika and Jeri a little later."

Wormmon walked over to Calumon. "I guess we got off on the wrong foot. I'm Wormmon."

Calumon eagerly shook Wormmon's hand. "I'm Calumon! Nice to meet you! You look like a nice Digimon! Can we be friends?"

"Um… sure. You're pretty hyper. Just how much of that Den food did you have?"

"Lots and LOTS of sugar!"

"He reminds me of the Sovereigns," Koji said as Calumon flew up to Takato's bed, hopping up down.

Wormmon moved towards Impmon. "And you must be Impmon. It's nice to meet you."

Wormmon extended the hand of friendship, which Impmon looked a little more than hesitant to take. He just turned his head away and reluctantly accepted.

"I'm Impmon and it's your pleasure to meet me."

"So where are you staying?" Wormmon asked.

"Like he said, I might as well go visit Rika, Jeri, and Renamon. But we'll see what happens from there. Is that human over there your Tamer?"

"Tamer? He's not my Tamer. Ken's my partner and a DigiDestined."

Impmon looked intrigued. "Is that right? You mean one of THE DigiDestined?"

"You know about them, Impmon?" Takato asked curiously.

Impmon nodded. "The stories of the DigiDestined are all over the Digital World. I just didn't think I'd ever get to see these humans myself. Not much to see."

Ken scoffed. "You'd be surprised."

Takato cut in. "Well, if you think that's crazy, wait till you guess who these guys are," he said, pointing to Takuya and Koji. The two of them smiled meekly.

Impmon didn't look impressed. "What about'em? Looks like more filthy humans, if ya ask me."

"They're the Legendary Warriors!"

Impmon now stared at them curiously, before bursting out laughing. Takuya frowned. "Ugh, that reaction is starting to get on my nerves." Impmon was rolling on the floor with hilarity. "That was a good one, Takato!" He managed to get out, still laughing.

Koji sighed as he got to his feet, heading out. "As much as I'd love to stay and chat, I have to get back to studying."

Takuya frowned. "That's the only thing you've been doing all weekend! Would it kill you take a break?"

"Maybe," Koji replied before closing the door behind him.

Calumon waved cheerfully while Impmon just nonchalantly shrugged. Takuya, Ken, and Wormmon were still there. So Takato decided to tell them a little more about these two friends of his.

"Where was I?"

**

* * *

**

Night was starting to fall in the Digital World. Puppetmon tapped his fingers impatiently as he sat by Datamon's supercomputer. The Digimon Empress and Datamon were both busy looking through the line of Digimon. It was a slow process which Puppetmon found dull and boring.

"Can we hurry this up?" Puppetmon groaned.

"This is a delicate process," Datamon responded. "It's imperative that we choose the right _mon_ for the job."

"He's right," The Digimon Empress pointed out. "We SHOULD hurry. I'd like to get this one out there as soon as possible."

"Can't we send that Tortomon we just got?" Puppetmon whined.

"Hmm… that DOES sound appealing," Datamon admitted. "What do you say, my pretty?"

"A Tortomon CAN be pretty destructive," The Digimon Empress mused. "Very well. We'll send the Tortomon."

Puppetmon got to his feet. He rushed past the other Digimon and up to the Tortomon, which still had a Black Gear on his back.

"Looks like you're up! Give me a good show and go ahead and STOMP EVERYONE! Except for TK, he's mine!"

"Ahem… I believe The Dark One asked for the holder of the **Crest of Light **to be kept alive, as well?" Datamon pointed out.

"Whatever," Puppetmon nonchalantly muttered. "I just want the chance to have some fun and nothing's more fun than playing around with humans."

"You two prepare the Tortomon," The Digimon Empress instructed. "I must go, since I have a prior engagement. But I'll be in touch tonight and we'll bring the Tortomon in."

Without even waiting for anyone else to say anything, The Digimon Empress walked out. Puppetmon couldn't help but scowl. As soon as she was out, he turned to Datamon.

"Are you SURE she's fully under our control?" Puppetmon asked skeptically.

"She's our puppet," Datamon said sinisterly, fully intending the pun. "It doesn't sound like it," Puppetmon shot back. "With every day that passes, it feels like she's getting out of control. Are you sure you know EVERYTHING about that thing stuck inside her?"

"I'm fully knowledgeable," Datamon answered. "She's under our control. Trust me."

Puppetmon wasn't so sure. The hierarchy was getting more and more confusing as it related to Puppetmon, Datamon, and The Digimon Empress. The only thing they all knew for sure was that The Dark One was the real brains behind the operation.

Puppetmon looked at the Tortomon, who roared loudly again. He couldn't help but cackle. This would make for an entertaining Saturday night.

**

* * *

**

Kari sighed despondently. While she was thrilled with the thought of spending her Saturday night with her friends, she knew there was one friend missing. That friend was TK and he was going out on a date with that Catherine girl.

She was deeply regretting what she did earlier. She didn't regret kissing Davis. It was something she wanted to do someday. But she regretted the REASON she did it. She didn't do it out of love or passion. Kari kissed Davis out of pure spite. It was wrong and she realized it.

It was time to go over to Yolei's apartment, but Kari honestly didn't feel like she wanted to go. She felt terrible. There was someone else there who was in touch with her feelings. That someone was Jeri.

"Kari, what's the matter?" Jeri asked.

Kari just sighed deeply.

"I think I know what's wrong," Gatomon said sadly. "Kari, is it because TK's going out on his date tonight?"

Kari nodded.

"But, Kari, I thought you didn't have feelings for TK anymore," Jeri pointed out. "Do you?"

Kari shook her head furiously. She may have been upset with TK going out, but she certainly didn't have any more feelings for him.

Zoë sighed, not sure what was wrong with her friend. "Then, why does it matter if he's going out or not?"

"He never told me, Zoë. I told him when I was going out with Davis. He knew for weeks. I told him in advance. But, he never told me he was going out with Catherine. And I didn't think he would. I thought I meant more to him than that."

Just then, Kari heard an annoyed grunt. She raised her head to see Rika walking over to her. Jeri, seemingly out of instinct, moved out of her way. Rika sat next to Kari, who was now sandwiched in-between her and Zoë.

"Maybe I should explain the concept of a 'breakup' to you," Rika began. "You… and TK … BROKE UP! That means you two have nothing! He does not have to tell you _anything_ anymore! If you want to tell him about your dates in advance, good for you. Whatever makes you happy. But you need to get it through your head that he doesn't need your approval for anything. He can do whatever he wants! He can see whomever he wants! He's his own person and he does not have to answer to you! You two are NOT together! It's OVER between you two! Do you get it?!"

Kari sighed deeply and hung her head down. "Rika, you just don't understand…"

"I think the one who doesn't understand is YOU!"

"Rika! Lay off!" Zoë yelled at Rika. The Tamer grunted at the blonde, not letting up. "Zoë, you know as well as I do that she's acting like a complete fool!"

Kari and Rika remained frozen, only moving their eyes, which they both used to stare a hole into each other. Seeing what this whole conflict was doing, Jeri decided to step in.

"You know, I think Yolei's expecting us to show up…"

"Yeah… we'd better go," Kari concurred.

This was the first time since the year started that Kari was starting to have some ill feelings towards Rika. She couldn't believe this girl had the gall to try and make it look like KARI was the one who was wrong.

Jeri nervously held the door open for them. Kari picked Gatomon up while Renamon chose to stay behind. Kari and Rika headed towards the door… and bumped each other roughly on the way out. It was obvious that tension was running high. And things didn't get any better when a pager went off.

"Oh no," Jeri moaned. "I have to go! Will you guys be ok?"

"Where are you going?!" Zoë shrieked, freaking out at the thought of having to deal with Rika and Kari alone for the night. This weekend was getting worse and worse.

"I'll be back in a little bit… but right now I gotta go do something," Jeri said. Rika just shot her a glance while Kari just nodded calmly.

Zoë was about to grab Jeri and pull her off to the side, but she quickly ran off, leaving the blonde completely bewildered. Kari couldn't help but notice how sudden that was.

**

* * *

**

TK didn't picture himself being in a soup restaurant that day, but there he was. And he didn't picture himself sitting in front of a pretty young lady like Catherine.

Catherine took another sip of her noodle soup. "I'm very amazed, TK. You've managed to have such an exciting life, even after what happened when we first met."

"I just wish you and I could have met under better circumstances," TK smiled. "Not that I'm complaining. At least you and I met. And… I really can't complain… now that you've come back into my life. Why come here, Catherine? I thought you'd love France."

Catherine shook her head. "It's not that I don't like living in France. But, part of taking full advantage of the college experience includes studying abroad. So I decided to study in Japan for my sophomore year. Sure it would be a very educational experience, but I also see it as a chance to see a whole new land."

"You'll love it here," TK nodded. "Trust me. I'm really glad you came."

"And why's that, TK?" Catherine asked curiously.

"Because… I never thought I'd have this opportunity again," TK answered. "I always wondered 'what if' and what would have been if… I had stuck around in France a little longer. Maybe there could have been something between us… ?"

"I always wondered that myself," Catherine admitted. "Maybe there can still be something between us."

TK blushed. "I hope so."

"But, you're very handsome, TK," Catherine continued. "I'm sure there's already a special girl in your life."

TK immediately cut her off. "There _was_ a special girl in my life. But she's… in the past. I'm looking towards the future."

"You think we can have a future together?"

"I hope so. And Hope is my middle name."

Before this could lead to anything, a pager started going off. It belonged to Catherine. Catherine looked at her pager and sighed deeply, cursing in French under her breath.

"Ugh, TK, I have to cut our date short. But… I really enjoyed myself."

Before TK could even say anything, Catherine leaned over and gave TK a kiss on the lips… attracting attention from the soup-eating customers. Then, Catherine ran out quickly. TK was hoping this night would be a lot better, but he was satisfied with what he had. He smugly leaned back in his chair and raised his hand.

"Check, please!"

**

* * *

**

Just like the night before, The Digimon Empress found herself in another lone alley. She grabbed her communicator and sighed deeply. Then, she made contact.

"Is he ready?"

"_The Tortomon is ready for action,"_ Datamon answered on the other end. _"Prepare to receive him on the other end."_

Seconds later, a Digital Field was being opened before her very eyes. And out of the Digital Field came the big Tortomon. The Digimon Empress simply pointed out towards the streets and the Tortomon ran down the alley into the open.

The night was going awfully slow. She craved some excitement and she knew a battle with the DigiDestined would bring The Digimon Empress all the excitement she wanted.

**

* * *

**

"And… we finally made it," Kazu said proudly. "Told you it was easy!"

Koichi just shot Kazu another cold stare as they approached the streets of Odaiba. This wasn't how he pictured spending his Saturday. He thought he would be able to go out on this day, but instead he accompanied Kazu and Kenta to retrieve Guardromon.

Now he was covered in soot and dust from the earlier explosion.

This wasn't Koichi's ideal Saturday.

"Yeah, easy," Kenta groaned. "The problem is… it's not over yet! We still have to get Guardromon INSIDE the dorm!"

"Look at it this way," Kazu grinned. "At least that's ALL we have to worry about. It can't get any worse."

Unfortunately, as soon as he said that, Kazu turned his eyes back to the road and quickly stepped on the brakes. The van came to a screeching halt.

"What's THAT about?" Kenta asked indignantly.

Koichi looked at what was in front of the van.

"Uh… we've… got a BIG problem!"

In front of the van… was a huge Digimon.

* * *

After paying for his meal and Catherine's meal, TK walked out of the restaurant and into the streets, which were less busy than usual.

"TK and Catherine sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G."

TK turned around and looked in the nearby bush. He walked over and parted the bushes to find Patamon.

"And what are YOU doing here?" TK asked.

"I followed you," Patamon said cheerfully. "I didn't want to stay behind. I wanted to see how you were doing. Besides… Davis brought Veemon on HIS date."

"Veemon _followed _Davis," TK corrected.

"And I followed you," Patamon grinned. "So what's the problem?"

TK chuckled. "Never mind. My date ended a little early. So I guess…"

TK stopped in his tracks when he saw a crowd of people running down the streets in a panic. He didn't know what to make of that. But he had a bad feeling about it. TK rushed over towards the source of the panic. He turned the corner to see that his fears were realized. It was a large Digimon. And it was a familiar one, at that.

"Is that a Tortomon?" TK asked.

Patamon nodded. "At least we ran into it and not Davis and Veemon. I'll bet they're still having nightmares about the one they saw. But, how did this one get here?"

"I don't know, but we'd better do something! You ready?"

Patamon nodded. "Yeah!" He flew off TK's shoulder and headed over to the Tortomon. "**Boom Bubble**!"

TK sweatdropped at his partner. The Boom Bubble attack just bounced off harmlessly. Patamon flew back over towards TK. "What did you think that would do, Patamon?"

Patamon frowned. "Hey, don't doubt the boom!"

"I think you'd better Digivolve," TK suggested.

"TK!"

TK turned around and was surprised to see a friend. "Koichi?"

It was Koichi along with Kazu and Kenta. They were all standing by a van and they were observing the carnage. TK ran over to them.

Kazu pointed his Digivice at the large Digimon. "Tortomon, champion-level. He takes full advantage of his large size with his Strong Carapace attack and Spinning Attack. How did he get here?"

"I don't know, but we have to stop him," TK replied.

Koichi reached into his pocket… and sweatdropped. "Um… you guys might have to do this one on your own."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I gave my Digivice to Izzy!"

"WHAT?! So what are we supposed to do now without the Legendary Warrior?!" Kenta gasped.

Kazu's face brightened up. "Send in some reinforcements!"

Kazu rushed over to the back of the van and opened it to reveal a Guardromon. TK had seen these before, but they had always been as adversaries. But, it looked like this Guardromon was on his side.

"That's your Guardromon?" TK asked.

Kazu nodded. "That's my Guardromon! No other Digimon packs the kind of punch he does!" He leaned over towards Guardromon's ear. "You know what to do! Go get that Tortomon!"

Guardromon headed over towards Tortomon and aimed. "**Grenade Destroyer**!"

The Grenade Destroyer attack got Tortomon's attention. Tortomon rushed Guardromon and tried to tackle him, but Guardromon managed to catch him and toss him in the air. Tortomon shook it off and tried again.

"**Spinning Attack**!"

Tortomon took to the air and spun around before crashing into Guardromon. The big champion robot went crashing to the ground. That was enough for TK.

"Patamon, I think we'd better give him a hand."

"You got it, TK!"

****Patamon … Digivolve to … Angemon!****

Before Tortomon could move in on Guardromon, he was cut off by Angemon. Tortomon and Angemon stood face to face while Kazu pointed his Digivice again.

"I can't believe it! Angemon, champion-level! He demolishes evil with his Hand of Fate attack!"

"It's THE Angemon!" Kenta shouted excitedly.

"I never thought I'd ever see Angemon in person!" Koichi added in amazement.

TK blinked. "I take it you guys have heard of Angemon?"

"HAVE WE HEARD OF ANGEMON?!" Koichi, Kenta, and Kazu all shouted in unison.

TK flinched. It was obvious that they really HAVE heard of Angemon. And they must have recognized how strong he was. Tortomon turned around to face Angemon. He did not appear to be impressed with the sight of the champion angel. He snorted like a bull before charging once again. But Tortomon didn't get to go at full speed, because Guardromon recovered long enough to grab him by the tail. That gave Angemon the opportunity he was looking for.

Angemon took to the sky and looked ready to deliver his mighty Hand of Fate attack. But he looked down at Tortomon and stopped in his tracks.

"TK! It's a Black Gear!"

At first, TK didn't think he heard what he did. "What?!"

"It's on the back of his neck!" Angemon continued. "If he'll stay still, I can get it off!"

Tortomon wouldn't cooperate, however. He shrugged Guardromon off by swinging his tail around and then he aimed for Angemon.

"**Strong Carapace**!"

Tortomon's Strong Carapace attack went into the air and knocked Angemon down. He was clearly caught off-guard and now Tortomon was ready to strike again. That's when Kazu reached in for one of his Digimon cards.

Kazu looked at the card. "Let's hope this works." He swiped the card through his Digivice. "Digi-Modify! Hyper Wing activate!"

To TK's amazement, Guardromon grew a set of wings and took to the air. Tortomon didn't even see him coming. Guardromon looked down and took aim.

"**Guardian Barrage**!"

Before Tortomon could turn around, the Guardian Barrage attack landed on the Black Gear and disintegrated it. Tortomon was no longer moving towards Angemon. Instead, he just shrugged and looked around as if he had just woken up.

"What happened?" Koichi asked.

"The Black Gear's been destroyed," TK answered. "He won't be bothering us anymore."

"What's a Black Gear?" Kenta asked.

"It's a dark contraption that makes Digimon evil," TK replied. "I haven't seen Black Gears in over ten years. I never thought I'd see them again."

Angemon examined the exhausted Tortomon before turning to TK. "There's something evil behind all this. I sensed that while they were Black Gears, there was something… different about them. I sense they're different from the ones Devimon once used. There's something… artificial about them."

"Artificial?" Koichi repeated. "Like replicas?"

"Very REAL replicas," Angemon agreed. "Yet their effect is quite the same. It obviously managed to turn this Tortomon against us."

Guardromon landed on the ground. Kazu brought him over to the Tortomon, who was fully cooperating now, if for no other reason than because he was unfamiliar with his surroundings.

"What do we do with him?" Kazu asked.

Before anyone said anything, MarineAngemon came out of Kenta's coat pocket and flew over towards the Tortomon. He tapped his nose and the Tortomon snapped like a tortoise, sending the little one flying back to Kenta, clinging to his arm.

"You'll have to excuse him," Kenta sighed. "As you can tell, MarineAngemon can be a little affectionate sometimes."

Angemon petted the Tortomon. "This one won't harm anyone anymore. Now it's just a simple matter of sending him back through a Digi-Port."

TK sighed. "I guess we'd better find a computer. Let's go, guys."

**

* * *

**

Another Digimon had struck and another Digimon had failed. Standing atop the roof of a building, The Digimon Empress couldn't be more disappointed. She had high hopes for that Tortomon, but it had failed. She was beginning to get frustrated.

The Digimon Empress reached into her belt for her whip and lashed it on the ground. She knew she'd have to hunt down another Digimon and whip it into shape so failures like this would not happen in the future.

But despite this latest failure, she knew that things weren't grim. In fact, everything was still going well. There were still many Digimon under the influence of Datamon's Black Gears and they would be more than ready for battle. And the fact that Tortomon didn't Digivolve was a good thing. This didn't change the fact that someone was making their minions Digivolve and turning against them.

And she couldn't forget one of her biggest advantages.

As she walked away, The Digimon Empress remembered the biggest thing she had going for her. None of the DigiDestined or these Tamers knew of her identity.

She planned to keep it that way.

**

* * *

**

It was another all-nighter for Yamaki. He was more than tempted to venture back on campus after hearing reports of something lurking in the university's cafeteria. He figured he could go back to the university and investigate what happened before… going back to grading his students' homework. But halfway there, he had noticed the streets were emptying.

Now Yamaki was on foot and quickly running in the opposite direction of where the people were evacuating. He was in the middle of an empty street. Nothing was happening. It was as if whatever was happening… had already ended.

Then he looked up at the sky and saw someone looking down from atop a building. It was someone in the shadows. He could barely make her out, but the figure had lashed a whip before turning to walk away.

He didn't know how he knew, but somehow he knew. Yamaki could sense that the person on the roof… was his mole.

And he vowed to find out who that mole was. He felt his phone ring in his pocket. Not taking his eyes off the rooftop, he answered.

"Yamaki here."

"_It's Yoshi_."

Yamaki's attention was turned to the voice on the other end. Ever since he recruited Yoshino, she had always referred to herself as Agent Fujieda, never her nickname. Something was clearly wrong.

"What's wrong?"

"_Thomas Norstein… he has a Digivice_."

**

* * *

**

Puppetmon was in a rage. He couldn't believe that the Tortomon couldn't even come close to beating Angemon. He grabbed his hammer and was about to strike down on the giant supercomputer.

"NO!!" Datamon shouted. "Fool! That's very delicate equipment! You can't just smash it like it's one of your toys!"

"I gotta smash SOMETHING!" Puppetmon shot back. "Got any other suggestions?"

Before Datamon could suggest something else, Puppetmon turned towards a random RedVeggiemon under the influence of a Black Gear.

"**Puppet Pummel**!"

Puppetmon hit the RedVeggiemon with his Puppet Pummel attack, instantly deleting the big vegetable.

"Stop that!" Datamon snapped. "Bad Digimon are hard to find these days! And furthermore, you just wasted a perfectly good Black Gear! Haven't you ever heard of 'anger management'? Those Black Gears don't grow on trees, you know."

"So where do we go from here?" Puppetmon asked angrily.

Of course, it was at that moment that the frequency on the supercomputer began to change. The screen was showing a shadowy figure shrouded in darkness. Puppetmon recognized him as The Dark One.

"I take it things aren't going well?" The Dark One demanded.

"You might say that," Datamon answered. "We're having a few minor setbacks. But don't worry about a thing. We've got everything under control."

"It certainly does not appear that way," The Dark One snarled.

"Don't get bent out of shape," Puppetmon sneered. "We'll take care of everything."

"You'd better! I don't want to be forced to take the DigiDestined out of the picture myself! If that happens, then rest assured that there will be consequences!"

With that, the feed quickly died. Puppetmon shook his head. Exchanges with The Dark One were never fun. But he knew that when it came to The Dark One, a lot of fun was more than a possibility. It was a certainty.

"Now what do you think he meant by that?" Puppetmon asked.

"He probably meant he'll destroy you and The Digimon Empress," Datamon said casually. "He knows I'm much too valuable to destroy. After all, who's the one who's bringing him back? Me, of course. So I'd be careful if I were you."

"Then maybe we need a better Digimon to send," Puppetmon suggested. "I'll be the one picking this time. Champions are chumps. We need something a little more… ultimate." He looked over the whole line of Digimon and that's when he found just the right one. "Hey, you look like you can get the job done."

Puppetmon looked at the big Digimon that would be sure to get some results. It was the mighty Minotaurumon. And with his brute strength, he would more than capable to demolish the DigiDestined, those new Tamers, and maybe even the Legendary Warriors. This time, there would be no failure.

**

* * *

**

Yolei heard a knock on her door. She looked around to make sure the living room was clean. With Catherine out on her date with TK, and with Yoshino out… wherever she was, Yolei was left alone to clean everything up for her guests. And the place was still quite a mess.

Unfortunately, that's when someone knocked on the door. Yolei gasped. She knew her room was a pigsty, so she sprung into action quickly. She began gathering the clothes that were on the ground and tossed them in the hamper, rushing over to the couches, gathering everything that didn't need to be there. She was working as fast as she could, spraying aerosol like no tomorrow. As soon as the room looked presentable, she grinned and walked over to the door.

But, the people standing at her door weren't exactly in the best mood. There stood Kari, holding Gatomon, and Rika and both had matching sour expressions. Zoë was in the middle of the two of them, an aggravated look on her face. Kari and Rika both walked in, neither one looking at the other, and sat on opposite sides of the couch.

Yolei began to sense some tension. "Uh… where's Jeri?" She asked Zoë, who stopped short. "She's not coming, said she had something to do," the blond replied, looking at her two angry roommates.

Yolei finally asked the big question. "What's with them?"

"Ugh, everything. And nothing. They've been acting weird ever since we left," Zoë said in a whisper, but Rika and Kari apparently heard her, because they shot death glares at the two of them.

"I can hear you know!" Rika snapped.

"Nothing is wrong!" Kari yelled.

"Really?! Because your attitudes say otherwise!" Zoë retorted back. The two of them glared at her, before turning huffily around.

Things looked as if they could blow up any moment, and Yolei glanced at Zoë nervously. That's when they got a lucky break and someone knocked on the door.

Yolei rushed over and opened the door. There stood Takuya, Takato, and her own boyfriend, Ken. She never felt more relieved to have them there.

"Come on in!" Yolei grinned. "Sit down and relax."

Takato exchanged glances with Davis and Ken. "Well… we'd better bring in our 'stuffed animals'."

At first, Yolei thought they meant Veemon, Wormmon, and Guilmon. But she was surprised when they reached over and picked up… another pair of 'stuffed animals'. They were different. One was a purple little creature with pointy ears and a scarf around his neck and the other was a tiny white creature… with a big head.

Rika's eyes widened. "What are THEY doing here?"

As soon as the white one was gently placed on the ground, he ran straight up to Rika and joyfully jumped on her lap.

"Rika! I missed you!"

"Calumon, how did you get here?" Rika asked.

"I walked and hitchhiked with Impmon," Calumon answered cheerfully. "We didn't want to be left behind! We missed you!"

Impmon smirked. "You didn't really think I'd stay behind, did you?"

"I thought you had your own Tamers!" Rika pointed out.

"You think I'm going back with them?" Impmon shot back. "They already messed up with me again. I'm not giving them a chance for a third strike. Besides, that place is a dump anyway. I'd rather have some fun out here."

"Well, you can't stay here!" Rika snapped. "Things are already bad enough in our room! We're having enough problems without having to baby-sit you two."

"Actually, I think it's a good idea," Takato cut in. "I'm sure Impmon will be on his best behavior… hopefully. And maybe Calumon can help keep things peaceful between… you know."

That got Gatomon's attention. "Huh?"

Rika nodded. "True. Terriermon tried to play peacemaker last night and failed miserably. But Calumon's got this certain… innocence. It just might work, goggle head."

Calumon walked over to Gatomon. "Hi! You must be Gatomon."

"Yeah, that's me. I've never seen you before."

Calumon grabbed Gatomon's gloved paw and shook it. "I'm Calumon! Wanna be friends?"

Gatomon blinked, obviously being caught off-guard. "Friends? Uh… I don't see why not."

"Oh boy! You, me, and Renamon are all gonna have lots of fun!"

"You know Renamon?" Gatomon asked.

"Uh huh! Renamon's one of my best friends!"

Gatomon thought about that. "Friends? Renamon has a friend?"

"Yeah! Impmon's her friend, too! And we're all gonna get along, aren't we, Impmon?"

Impmon casually shrugged. "Eh, whatever."

"So after all these years, Renamon DOES have friends?" Gatomon muttered to herself.

"Ok, Takato, they can go ahead and stay in my room," Rika said. "But, you owe me big time!"

"I always owe you big time," Takato smirked. "Pretty much everyone owes you except for…" Takato stopped in his tracks when he saw Rika glaring a hole right into him.

"Um… never mind."

Having established these two new guests as mainstays, everyone finally started sitting down. Takuya walked past Zoë, the two of them mugging each other with aggravation.

"Zoë," he simply said to the blonde, who muttered some obscenity under her breath in return.

Zoë sat down next to Rika, who had Calumon in her lap with Impmon on the other side of her. Takuya saw Kari sitting on the other side of the couch, a large smile on his face.

"Fancy meeting you here," he said before taking a seat beside her.

"Um, Yolei is _my_ friend. What are you doing here?" Kari asked, smiling at the goggle head.

"I was just hanging with Takato and Ken, when he said girls were supposed to be up here. Didn't think he meant you guys, though," Takuya replied, his lopsided smile forming on his face.

Zoë took notice of the flirtatious behavior, but said nothing. Takato sat on the floor. And Yolei walked over to the loveseat, making sure to leave a small space for Ken.

Ken walked over and whispered in her ear. "Is everything ok? I can sense that things between Kari and Rika aren't… what they should be."

It was true. Yolei looked around and saw that they were still occasionally shooting death glares at one another.

"Just ignore them," Yolei whispered. "Maybe they'll get over whatever's wrong by the end of the night. At least we can hope."

Yolei looked forward to finally starting the movie, but there was yet another delay. Someone else was knocking on the door. Yolei grumbled as she walked over to answer the door. And there was another grinning guest.

"Hey, Yolei!"

"Cody? How'd you… ?"

But before Yolei could even finish her question, someone else poked their head in. For her, this was more than an uninvited guest.

"Ken!"

It was that Rosa girl. And before Yolei could even say anything, she rushed right in and took her seat… next to Ken.

Yolei could feel her blood start to boil. She turned and grabbed Cody by the collar.

"What's… **SHE** doing here?" she demanded through gritted teeth.

"Don't look at me," Cody grumbled back. "She just ran into me as I got here. What'd you want me to do? Just say no?"

"Yes!" Yolei growled softly. "And how did you find this place anyway? I didn't think you knew where the sophomore dorms were."

"Oh, you can thank me for that."

Yolei looked up and saw that Jeri had come back. She looked a little worse for the wear, as if she had been running around all night. Jeri walked in and took her seat next to Takato. Yolei was just standing by the door trying to absorb everything that happened. Her room was getting pretty crowded. There were about nine people and two Digimon.

"I need some fresh air," Yolei sighed.

Yolei was about to walk out by herself, but to her surprise, Kari came out right behind her.

"Uh… Yolei? Can I come too? I could use a little air, myself." While Yolei was hoping for a little time to herself, she didn't mind having a few friends around.

"Yolei, you want me to come with you?" Ken asked.

"Don't bother," Yolei growled.

With that, Yolei just walked out, not even checking to see if Kari was following along. All she wanted was to get away from Ken and Rosa. If Ken wanted to be with that other girl, she wouldn't get in their way.

**

* * *

**

Finally, after a long night, Kazu reached campus once more. It was good to be back after a long and eventful day. But he looked in the back and saw that everything wasn't over just yet.

Kenta was riding shotgun while Koichi, TK, and Patamon were all riding in the second row. But they weren't the ones Kazu was concerned with. His problem was lying in the very back. It was his own partner, Guardromon.

"I don't think tonight would be a good night to bring him in," Kazu said slowly.

"We can always wait for tomorrow," Kenta replied. "It's only Sunday. We've got the whole day."

"I guess you're right," Kazu agreed. "Will you be ok in here, Guardromon?"

"I'll be just fine, Kazu."

"Ok, sit tight and don't move an inch until I say so. We'll be back tomorrow."

Kazu tried to analyze what he just said. It was pretty clear cut. There was nothing that could possibly mix up the big robot. Feeling comfortable, Kazu parked in the only available parking space and brought the van to a halt. Everyone headed out the door and started walking towards the freshman dorms.

Kazu quickly followed suit. While this wasn't the ideal Saturday, there was always next week. His college life was just getting started.

**

* * *

**

Feeling tired, TK just headed back to the freshman dorms with his friends. It wasn't exactly the ideal night he was hoping for. The date ended prematurely and he wandered right into a rampaging Tortomon. This wasn't his idea of a good Saturday night.

"TK?"

But it just got better. TK turned around and saw Catherine. He looked over and saw that his friends had stopped in their tracks as well upon seeing the French beauty.

TK frowned. "Guys? A little privacy?"

Koichi was able to shake it off and drag drooling Kazu and Kenta back into the dorm building. "Sure thing, TK. See ya."

With his friends back inside, TK turned back around to face Catherine. "Hi! You're getting back in pretty late."

Catherine sighed. "I just had some business to take care of. I'm really sorry I had to cut our date short, TK. I feel terrible about it."

"Ah, don't worry about it. It's not like you could do anything about it. Besides, I had a great time. Maybe we can try again sometime?"

"I'd like that!"

As he saw Catherine's face light up, TK could sense that the time wouldn't be any better. Sure, he already got a kiss that night, but that was an on-the-run kiss. TK wanted something… a little more than that. He wanted something more… romantic. So he leaned over slowly and so did Catherine. But …

The door to the freshman dorm building opened. Someone was walking out.

"Oh… I hope I didn't interrupt anything."

The forward motion stopped. There was no kiss. TK turned his head to see a familiar face. But, what he didn't remember was that it was also a familiar face to someone else.

Catherine gasped. "Tai?! Is that you?!"

Tai Kamiya, who was just walking out, just blinked. He didn't recognize her. "Uh… yeah."

"Do you remember me? It's me, Catherine!"

Tai's face brightened. "I remember you! Who could forget such a beautiful face?!" He quickly threw his arms around her. "You've grown up so much! I never thought I'd see you again! It's been so long! What's it been? About seven years?"

Catherine nodded. "I think time has done you well, Tai. You certainly look much more handsome."

"You think so?" Tai asked happily. "You don't think I look… old or anything, do you?"

"_Pas de chance_! You may be growing older, but I imagine that you're also becoming much more mature."

"I'll bet you're pretty mature, yourself. Do you… wanna go for walk? I'll take you to your room."

"Okay. I'd like that!"

Suddenly, Tai was walking back into the dorm building with Catherine by his side. TK couldn't help but notice that he was now by himself. Out of nowhere, Tai had just barged in and left with his girl.

TK looked into the sky and shouted. "Hey! What about me?!"

**

* * *

**

Uncle Willy and Aunt Diane left about two whole hours ago to go pick up Grandpa Homer at the airport. And Marcus couldn't have gotten anymore impatient. Here he was, waiting on his grandfather to come, and who knows what time it is.

As soon as they got back from the seminar, Diane and Willy went upstairs and changed clothes in the large mansion home. When Marcus asked if he could come along, his uncle, of all people, simply brushed him aside as if he didn't matter!

Marcus could admit, that when he first arrived at the Avalons' home, he was a bit apprehensive. In fact, even now, he couldn't wait to get off suspension so he could go back to his home AND school after next week. But, even so, his mother's sister's family was actually starting to grow on him. He could tolerate Uncle Willy a lot more, mainly due to the fact that Willy treated him like a man, instead of a little boy. His Aunt Diane, while still stuck up and uptight, was even more tolerable. The only one was Naomi, who was a great deal more secretive than Marcus remembered.

She was always sneaking out after-hours, and pretending that she didn't do it in the morning. Not that he was a snitch, Marcus has done his fair share of sneaking out, as well. But, Naomi? His by-the-book, daddy's little girl cousin? No way.

Now, he just waited for his aunt and uncle to return with his grandfather. He walked around their giant home, in the upper levels he had yet to explore.

Marcus was staying in the Willy and Diane's older son room. Jeremiah Avalon, the only and older son. But, like Marcus's father… his older cousin had disappeared, as well. So both sides of the family were affected in the past year. To what, Marcus didn't know.

He walked past a couple of open studies, empty bedrooms. Before he got to one door that was slightly ajar.

When he first came into their home, his aunt was very keen in saying that he was not allowed on this floor. So the interest had piqued way past now. He figured all the doors would be locked, however. To see one open had completely sparked his intrigue.

He walked up to the door, and slowly pushed it open. Only to find…

Naomi sitting at a desk. She was looking through some papers, but as Marcus opened the door, she quickly put them down.

"Well, what do we have here-" Marcus began, but Naomi ran over quickly, shushing him and closing the door.

"You're not allowed up here!" Naomi said quietly, her arms folded.

"Um, I don't think you are either," Marcus retorted.

"I live here."

He began to walk deeper into the room, which had a fireplace and a large picture of a handsome man and probably the most beautiful woman Marcus had ever seen.

"Whose room is this?" He asked.

Naomi glared at him, but walked back over to the desk. "None of your business, you need to leave."

"I won't be long… But, what are you doing in here?"

"Nothing."

He walks over to the desk, and sees an open drawer where she is sitting. He sees two words written on a sheet of notebook paper.

_Digital World_.


	12. Sunday

Marcus stirred as his alarm clock blared. He opened his eyes to see the clock read 12:00 AM. He had overslept! Judging from the way the sun was shining through the bedroom window, it was most definitely almost noon.

He jumped out of bed and shook his brown hair. "Man, what time did I go to bed last night?" He asked himself, walking over to a mirror. His mind began to wander, to the going-on's of the things Naomi told him yesterday night, in their grandfather's study.

Apparently, Naomi had recently snuck into that room about a month ago. It was their great-grandfather's picture on the wall, and was the place where their grandfather kept all of his things. Marcus never even knew about it.

Inside, she showed him papers and coordinates that led to something called the Digital World. Marcus had no clue what or where that was, but Naomi had came up with her own theories.

_For some reason, she came up with that was the place where her brother, Marcus's father, and their grandfather were at the past year. "But, where exactly is it?" _

"_Are you not looking at the same papers I am?" She whispered, pointing to the same notebook paper that he had picked up. _

_He looked down, and his eyes gazed to the first thing that stood out. Digital World. Above that, however, were numerous zeroes and ones scribbled over it, the words Digital Field, and various other things that Marcus couldn't really comprehend. _

"_Okay? What's all this mean?" He asked. _

_She stared at him blankly. "I swear, you really need to stay in school." He chuckled dryly, not impressed by her humor. She snatched the paper away, putting it flatly on the desk. "Look at this," she pointed to the words Digital World. Then, to the words Digital Field. "All of these words have digital in them." _

_"Meaning…?" _

"_All of these zeroes and ones? Marcus don't you see?" She pointed out another word that didn't catch his attention when he previously looked at it. Digital Monsters. "The word digital appears too much for you NOT to notice. They went somewhere … like digitally, otherworldly." _

_Marcus sucks his teeth, sliding the paper away gently. "Someone's been up all night thinking up stories. Way past your bedtime-," he was cut off by her. She shoves him away and smacks her teeth. _

"_Ugh, whatever! Don't believe me! You're not gonna be laughing when I get Grandpa Homer to say it tomorrow morning!" He stopped short, turning around to look at his cousin. "Bet." _

"_What?" She had a confused look on her face. _

"_If you can get grandpa to say that they were … somewhere 'digital' as you keep saying, then I'll…" _

"_I don't want anything from you." _

"_Bet money." _

"_Do you have any… Oh wait, I know." Naomi smirked mischievously. "Bet all the money you're making doing that janitor job." _

"_Are you serious?!" _

"_Hey, it was your idea!" Marcus groaned before finally giving in. "Fine. But, only because I know you're wrong." Naomi waved him away dismissively and continued looking through the rest of the files. "Yeah, we'll see tomorrow." _

_"We'll see," Marcus said with a chuckle as he walked out the room closing the door. _

Well, the morning was here and Marcus was ready to see Naomi embarrass herself today at breakfast. Suddenly, however, she burst in his room, a worried look on her face.

"Hey, can you knock?!" He barked as she shut the door. She put one of her hands over her face, covering her eyes. "Ugh! Put some pants on!" She yelled.

The only thing that Marcus had on at the moment was some boxers, making it quite the awkward scene.

He ran over to his dirty clothes, quickly putting on a shirt and red sweatpants. "You can't just barge in a man's room like that Naomi, what are you-"

She shushed him as she walked up to him. She was dressed in an eloquent flower dress, similar to that of Alice In Wonderland. "Don't mention anything about what I told you last night." Marcus laughed right in her face. "Please, you just don't want me to embarrass you in front of EVERYBODY!"

"Marcus! I'm serious!" She pleaded, a frightened look on her face. Marcus stared at her, not sure what to think. Before he could answer, though, someone else came bursting through the door.

It was their grandfather, Homer Yushima, their mother's father. "KIDS!" Homer greeted them cheerfully, with his fishing hat and a tacky shirt, making him look quite the character.

Naomi and Marcus changed their worried faces with a quickness, smiling just as widely at their grandfather. "GRANDPA!" They shouted in unison.

They embraced their grandfather, laughing. It was the first time that they had seen him in year.

"You guys look so much bigger!" The old man said heartily.

Naomi gave a death glare at Marcus, unnoticed by their grandfather. Marcus could tell something was wrong.

* * *

Sunday was here and the clock was nearing noon. Davis had listened intently to TK the whole morning. He was more than eager to hear about his date, but so far, everything he had heard turned out to be totally unexpected.

He didn't think he'd hear that another Digimon had gone on a rampage in downtown Odaiba. It was a good thing that Patamon was following along and that Koichi, Kazu, and Kenta were also in the neighborhood. They certainly prevented a disaster from happening.

But the other thing Davis didn't expect to hear was that TK's night ended with watching Tai and Catherine walk away together. It didn't sound like an ideal way to end a date.

"So… Tai met Catherine, too?" Davis asked.

TK nodded. "He went with me to France, remember? We both met Catherine that night. And I guess Catherine remembers him, too. I just can't believe she left me to go with him."

"I'm sure it doesn't mean anything, TK," Ken offered. "They were probably just happy to see each other."

"She didn't even say 'good night'!" TK growled. "And Tai didn't exactly do anything to help my cause either!"

"Can you blame him?" Patamon grinned.

TK shot his partner a cold stare. "Thanks a lot!"

"I'm just joking, TK," Patamon frowned. "Come on! You know Tai wouldn't do anything like that to you. I mean… he does know you two were on a date, right? It's not like he wasn't aware of it."

"He had to have been aware of it," TK replied. "I mean, I didn't tell him, but he clearly saw me going in for a kiss. He's not dense."

"Well… I don't know," Davis mused. "If it was me, I wouldn't have known if you hadn't had said anything."

TK thought about that. Tai and Davis were a lot alike, and that meant …

TK hung his head down. "Oh, no!"

"Maybe you should talk to him," Veemon suggested.

"I'm sure you'll get the chance," Wormmon added. "After all, you both live in the same building. Maybe it's best if you just talk about it."

As if on cue, someone knocked on the door. Veemon, Patamon, and Wormmon all went into their stuffed animal acts while Davis went to answer the door. The three Digimon all unfroze at the sight of Tai.

"What's up, guys," Tai greeted them happily, a large smile on his face.

"Oh, you're in a awfully good mood," TK said nonchalantly. "So… uh… how was last night? I'm guessing you and Catherine spent the whole night together?"

"We lost track of time, we were talking so long," Tai smiled. "Spent the whole time catching up, walking around campus. I can't believe she's actually coming here. If I hadn't seen you two outside last night, I might have never found her."

"Didn't you notice anything happening, Tai?" TK demanded. "I don't know, something like … me … and her … about to KISS?!"

"I don't remember anything like that," Tai said naïvely. "Were you two in the middle of something?"

"We were in the middle of a DATE!"

"Oh, you two were on a date? I didn't know that. If I'd had known, I wouldn't have asked Catherine out next weekend."

"You asked her out?!" TK demanded. "I can't believe you!"

"Hmm… I'm guessing that I probably shouldn't tell you she said 'yes'."

"She said 'YES'?!"

"Yeah, we're going out this weekend. Jeez, TK, you sound upset."

"I was talking to her first, Tai! How could you just move in on her?"

"I didn't know. I thought she was still single."

Davis cleared his throat. "Uh … technically … she _is_ single. Her and TK haven't made anything official. Yet…"

"Stay out of this, Davis!" TK groaned. "You're not helping!"

"No, he makes a good point," Tai shot back. "You guys aren't official. If you were, then she wouldn't have agreed to go out with me."

"But, she kissed me at the restaurant last night!" TK pointed out. "Doesn't that count for anything?"

"Well… she _is_ French," Ken cut in.

"It's probably something all French girls do," Davis added.

"STAY OUT OF THIS!!" both TK and Tai snapped.

"What's the big deal, TK?" Tai asked smugly. "You afraid she'll have more fun with me?"

"You think I'm afraid of you?" TK scoffed.

"Why wouldn't you be?" Tai smirked. "Have you seen my track record? Every girl falls for me at some point."

"Every girl except Sora."

"Ok, every girl except Sora! But, Sora's always had eyes for Matt. Catherine definitely does not have eyes for you!"

"I think you're wrong about that!" TK shot back. "I'm a pretty smooth guy, myself! And I've got a lot going for me! I'm sweet, handsome, and definitely _younger_!"

**SILENCE**.

Tai didn't have a response for that one and Davis realized that it stemmed from the insecurities he had about his age. He couldn't have been comfortable with TK pointing that out.

TK walked up to Tai and ran a finger through his poofy hair. TK pulled his finger out and it was literally dripping with brown gunk.

TK smirked. "I don't have to resort to using 'Just For Men'."

Tai turned around and had his back to everyone. "So you're gonna throw that in my face, huh? I'll show you! I'll show everybody! I'm still young and I'll prove it!" Having said those ominous words, Tai stormed out. TK won this battle of words, but it looked like a war was brewing.

Davis couldn't help but be a little worried. "I don't like the sound of that."

Even TK looked worried. "Something tells me he's about to do something crazy." Of course, just like his roommates, Davis could only guess what his idol had in mind. All they could do was wait.

**

* * *

**

Tai made a beeline for the main door of the freshman building. After that argument with TK, he was feeling older than ever. But he would soon fix that. He had something in mind. Something that would have him feeling younger than he ever felt before.

"Tai?"

Tai passed through his room. The door was open and Matt quickly walked over to catch up to him.

"We still meeting Sora and Mimi for lunch?"

Tai shook his head and kept going. "Go without me. I've got to head out for a minute."

"Where are you going?"

"I've got something I need to do. Something that'll prove I'm still young!"

Matt groaned. "Tai, you don't have to prove that! You are young!"

"I still have to prove that to myself."

Matt groaned a second time and snarled under his breath. "Tai…"

Tai wasn't listening. He headed out the door and didn't look back.

**

* * *

**

Kazu stood at the back door of his van and knew just what he had to do. It wouldn't be a tough task, but he would likely have to answer some reluctant questions if and when he was spotted. But, it was the only way to do things right.

"Well, this is it. You ready, Kenta?"

Kenta sighed. "Let's get this over with."

Kazu reached in the back of his van and reached for a piece of Guardromon. Yes, Guardromon had been taken apart into several pieces. That way, Kazu and Kenta could take each piece of Guardromon in one at a time and reconstruct him later. Kazu grabbed Guardromon's head while Kenta grabbed his two arms.

"I feel like I'm having an out-of-body experience," Guardromon's head cracked.

"Unless you want me to dump your head in the toilet, no more bad jokes!" Kazu snapped.

"Yeah, leave the jokes to me," Kenta grinned as he held up Guardromon's arms. "When it comes to comedy arsenals, I'm armed!"

Kazu merely groaned.

"Calm down, Kazu," Guardromon said gently. "Pull--"

"Don't even think about telling me to pull myself together!" Kazu muttered through gritted teeth.

"Chill out," Kenta said innocently. "Don't go all to pieces."

"Let's just get this over with!" Kazu yelled.

After getting the amateur-night comedy routine out of the way, Kazu carried Guardromon's head and Kenta carried Guardromon's arms towards the front door of the hall. But before Kazu could reach over to open the door, the door flew open and nailed him. The contact resulted in him dropping his Digimon's head … which landed on his foot.

"**OW**!!"

"Oh, sorry about that," RA Tai Kamiya said. "I was just on my way… uh… what are you guys doing?"

"Bringing in Guardromon," Kenta answered. "That's Kazu's Digimon partner."

"Looks like you got your work cut out for you," Tai said. "I'd better get going, but good luck bringing him in. Don't lose your head."

Kazu groaned. "Oh, jeez."

"Good luck, guys," Tai grinned.

Tai walked off, leaving Kazu and Kenta alone with the spare parts that were Guardromon. Kazu picked up the head and decided to keep going.

"C'mon," he muttered before opening the entrance door.

"Yeah. Let's 'head' inside," Kenta replied, a large grin on his face.

Kazu shot him a cold stare.

Kenta laughed, "Sorry."

**

* * *

**

Izzy was deep in concentration. Whenever he was this deep in thought, he could hardly be bothered. Everything around him was just a blank to him. In this entire weekend, he hadn't even left his apartment. Even now, he was in the living room, deep in thought. Izzy could only focus on the task in front of him.

Right now, that task was researching this Blue Card that Takato had given to him. There were so many questions running through Izzy's mind. He was always the most curious one of the entire group, but never had his curiosity been this high before. There was so much he didn't know. There was so much he STILL didn't know.

Joe and Cody were both looking on intently. Both had come along to help in any way they could. Tentomon, Gomamon, and Armadillomon all watched from the couch. Cody had just arrived since dragging Armadillomon around was tougher than it looked. Things weren't as easy for the younger DigiDestined since their Digimon decided to stay in their rookie level in the Real World.

"What do you see, Izzy?" Cody asked.

"I've analyzed this Blue Card thoroughly and meticulously," Izzy replied. "I scoured every inch of it and ran it through every program in my laptop, trying to piece it together with anything we've seen in the Digital World."

"And what do you see?" Joe asked.

Izzy took his eye off the Blue Card and sighed. "Absolutely nothing. I don't understand it. I've done every test I could possibly conduct and I haven't been able to come up with any conclusions. I don't even have a feasible theory! I just have no clue about this Blue Card, where it got its power, where it came from, or even how it came into existence!"

Tentomon wandered over and offered a snack. "Whoa, Izzy! Your head looks like it's about to explode! Relax! Have a cookie!"

Izzy shook his head. "I'm not in the mood for an oatmeal. Er… got any chocolate chip?"

Joe took the Blue Card and eyed it, himself. "I've seen you solve some strange mysteries before, Izzy. You were able to piece together a lot of info when it came to our crests and tags."

"And whenever any of us needed your help, you were always the one to go to," Cody added.

"You're saying you have nothing?" Joe asked. "Not even a vague little theory?"

Izzy shook his head. "I've only had a chance to talk to Takato and Henry one other time before today. And they've given me some instances in which the Blue Card has shown its power. But what I don't know is, where does that power come from?"

"It's times like this I wish Gennai was here," Cody sighed. "Maybe he could answer some of these questions for us."

"_Did somebody call me_?"

Izzy's ears were burning. He hadn't heard that voice in many years. The voice came from his laptop. He turned around and looked over at his laptop and saw a young, cloaked figure on the screen.

"Gennai!"

Izzy didn't waste any time in rushing to his laptop to open a Digi-Port. Once it was open, Gennai came through and materialized in Izzy's living room. It had been so long since Gennai had last made contact with any of the DigiDestined. Izzy, in particular, felt isolated since Gennai would come to him the most. But here he was again. Unexpectedly, Gennai had returned and looked delighted to see his old friends.

Gennai looked around at all the six stunned faces. "I take it you weren't expecting me?"

"We don't know WHEN to expect you anymore, Gennai," Joe answered.

"We haven't seen you in years!" Cody added.

Izzy walked over to old DigiDestined ally. "I was starting to think we'd never see you again."

Gennai's smile faded. "I didn't want to be away for so long. Believe, I haven't been closer to anybody than you all, the DigiDestined."

"I'm not really getting that feeling," Armadillomon cut in. "From what I hear, there are others that have been getting some attention."

"That's right!" Joe added. "We just got acquainted with this new breed that call themselves Digimon Tamers. And they tell us that they went through a grueling ordeal of their own to save the Digital World."

Gennai nodded. "You must mean the terrible ordeal involving the D-Reaper. The four Digimon Sovereigns were very worried about what would happen. They thought the D-Reaper would completely overwhelm the entire world."

Tentomon buzzed, the mere mention of the Sovereigns. "Which brings us to the another thing I wanted to bring to your attention!" Gennai smiled, already knowing what was coming. "Why IN THE DIGITAL WORLD are the Sovereigns in the care of the so-called Legendary Warriors reincarnated?!" Tentomon demanded, making Gennai's smile widen.

"I see we have much to discuss," Gennai said walking over to a seat. Izzy could tell they were in for a story, so he sat down on the couch. When they saw this, everyone else in the room followed suit.

"As far as the Tamers goes… If this threat was as big as you say it is, then why weren't any of us notified? I'm pretty sure we could have handled whatever was threatening the two worlds. Why did you take a chance with a whole new breed?" Izzy asked.

Gennai sighed, searching for an explanation. "It wasn't up to me. The Sovereigns felt that was the best course of action to take. Well… three of them did, anyway. Around the time that the D-Reaper incident started, there were many chosen to become Digimon Tamers. It was more than just the eight or nine who aided in the fight against the D-Reaper. Like the DigiDestined, there are Tamers all over the world."

"But, why Tamers?" Izzy asked again. "Why use them when they could have used us or any of the other International DigiDestined?"

"The Sovereigns had other reasons for putting the Tamers on the front line," Gennai explained. "The Tamers were also… for lack of a better word… an experiment. They aren't DigiDestined and as they aren't DigiDestined, that also left room for many differences. Have any of you fought alongside the Tamers?"

"I talked to Davis yesterday," Cody answered. "He fought with Takato on Friday night and he tells me that the Tamers have a totally different style of battling."

"The Tamers have a unique style all their own," Gennai continued. "There's even one more drastic difference that you have yet to see. One that helped them defeat the D-Reaper menace once and for all. One I hope will come into play sometime in the future. The reason the Sovereigns experimented with Tamers is because… there's another threat looming on the horizon. One that none of them or myself have been able to identify. That's part of the reason why you haven't heard from me in so many years. I was needed."

"Needed?" Cody repeated.

Gennai nodded. "For the past few years, all hasn't been well in the Digital World. As you may know, the Sovereigns are… out of action." Tentomon fumed, about to say something. But Izzy quickly silenced his partner.

Gennai continued, "The sole ruler of the Digital World, Fanglongmon, became under the control of a deep evil. Lucemon." Cody shuddered. "You told us of this story once before," he replied. Izzy remembered the story of Lucemon and the other Demon Lords, all too well. And for even one to have been able to escape the prison in which they dwell, was something big.

"Fanglongmon couldn't resist Lucemon's power. So he began to ravage the entire Digital World, searching for the Fractal Code," Gennai said, his face becoming grim as he retold the events that happened in the past five years. "We were still recovering from the D-Reaper attack, which we all worked so hard to defeat, and this happened." He sighed, "First, Ebonwumon fell at the hands of Fanglongmon. When that happened, Azulongmon went into hiding, making everyone believe he abandoned us. In reality, he reached out to the Spirits of the Legendary Warriors. Fanglongmon already had Water, Steel, Wood, and Earth under his control. The spirits, themselves reached out to those five humans you met the other day."

"They were chosen… by the spirits?" Gomamon asked, in awe.

"Yes," Gennai confirmed. "Coming to the Digital World, these children waged war against Fanglongmon and his minions, eventually discovering Lucemon was behind everything. Communication to the Real World was cut off."

"That was the interference Agumon told us about," Armadillomon shouted.

"Lucemon nearly destroyed the entire Digital World… If it wasn't for those true Chosen Children. Ever since, they have been bonded to the spirits," Gennai finished.

Tentomon wasn't satisfied. "The Sovereigns, Gennai! The Sovereigns!" Gennai laughed. "Oh, yes, of course," he said. "Fanglongmon managed to take out each and every Sovereign, until only the egg of Baihumon remained. The Legendary Warriors escaped Fanglongmon's minions with it, until it hatched into the little Digimon you recently came into contact with."

"And the others?" Tentomon pressed.

"Once, Lucemon came into the picture, he technically did destroy the entire Digital World. We set up a refugee camp on one of the three moons, when the Legendary Warriors showed up! They had managed to find the three other Sovereign eggs. The Legendary Warriors had befriended the Digimon Sovereigns! It seemed absurd, but we all knew that the young Digimon weren't ready for their duty just yet."

"It's been FIVE YEARS, Gennai! How much longer do they need?" Tentomon shouted. He clearly was against the fact that the Sovereigns were being held up in a college campus.

"It's been kind of a rough five years Tentomon, you know that," Gennai said firmly. "The world was nearly ended by a Demon Lord."

"I understand, Gennai, but the Digital World needs them!"

"Yes, you are right… I, myself, believe it is time for them to come back. As such, does others."

Joe looked at Gennai suspiciously. "What do you mean by 'others'?"

"One of my colleagues have told me that they got information on a 'group' that is attempting to infiltrate this world, attempting to find the Sovereigns while they are vulnerable in their rookie forms," Gennai informed, making Cody gasped.

"Someone's trying to kidnap them?" He asked. "They are trying to find them, according to sources. And a set of humans managed to stumble across the Digital World in the past year, as well." Joe thought things were getting stranger and stranger as the conversation continued. "Humans? Like new DigiDestined?"

"No. These people were looking for someone, on their own accord," a grim look stuck across his face.

"There's an evil presence that I haven't felt in a long time," he continued. "A presence similar to that of … one of the old Dark Masters. It's as if … one of them has returned."

"Do you think one of them has been reconfigured?" Izzy suggested.

Gennai nodded. "That's the most likely scenario. Piedmon may be stuck in MagnaAngemon's Gate of Destiny, but it's a real possibility that any of the other three Dark Masters have been reconfigured. But I'm afraid it doesn't end there. I sense something greater. For the past few years, I sensed an extreme evil. An evil that eclipses even that of Apocalymon. The humans, this mysterious group, this evil presence, I scoured the other three regions of the Digital World looking for it."

"The other three regions?" Joe repeated.

"When your adventure began, the three of you and the rest of the DigiDestined traveled through Azulongmon's region of the Digital World. The region the Tamers traveled through belonged to Zhuqiaomon. The Legendary Warriors mainly fought in Baihumon's region. I traveled through those two regions along with the land belonging to Ebonwumon, trying to find anything that might lead me to these things we've been sensing. I still haven't found a thing.

"I'm convinced that there are a lot of pieces to this puzzle. Whatever evil is lurking out there will soon show itself. I'm sure of it. And we'll eventually see what we're up against."

After hearing that long-winded explanation, Izzy had one question. "But if this threat has been around for as long as you say it's been, then why are we just learning about it now?"

Gennai sighed deeply. "I know what an important time this is in your life. You're all in college. And I didn't want something like this to interfere. I wanted to try and handle it myself. But I guess that's no longer possible."

Joe smirked. "Gennai, we've balanced school and saving the world before. What makes you think we can't do it this time?"

"I think I see what you mean," Izzy told Gennai. "College is a whole different world. It's not like high school or elementary school. It requires a lot more and is a lot more pressure. And if we have to worry about saving the world 24 hours a day, our grades would suffer as a result."

"This may be your greatest challenge," Gennai said ominously. "To fight an unknown evil … and STILL keep up with college. And you'll have to team up with the Digimon Tamers and The Legendary Warriors to do it. Are you all up to it?"

"I think you know the answer to that," Joe answered.

Cody cleared his throat. "Ahem …"

Gennai nodded. "I know you're not in college yet, Cody. But you get the general idea."

"Gennai, as long as you're here, I have some questions regarding these Tamers," Izzy said. He held up the Blue Card. "I've been trying to study this Blue Card for days and I haven't been able to gather any information. Do you know anything about it?"

Gennai took the Blue Card in his hand. He nodded knowingly and that gave Izzy the impression that he knew something about it.

"This Blue Card was made by a human known as Shibumi. However, he was unaware of the power he had unleashed by creating it. The Blue Card is what brought Digimon and their Tamers together. But there's definitely more power to it than that. It also allows the Tamers' Digimon to reach the ultimate level."

"You mean without the use of crests or any other outside power?" Joe wondered.

"That's right. While your Digimon are now able to Digivolve to ultimate through the power of Azulongmon's cores, the Tamers' Digimon can reach ultimate by swiping the Blue Card through their Digivices."

"A much more efficient and reliable method," Izzy noted. "I can see why the Sovereigns wanted to experiment with that." Izzy looked over Henry's Digivice. "There seems to be a slot to scan cards through, just like Davis described to me."

"The Tamers can access their card deck to aid them in battle," Gennai clarified. "That's how these Digivices were specially designed."

"It looks like they have it so much better than us," Cody thought. "Everything seems to be a step above what the DigiDestined have."

"That's not necessarily true," Gennai said. "Tamers also have their disadvantages. Unlike DigiDestined, Tamers cannot use their Digivices to access the Digital World or open Digi-Ports. Another disadvantage is that champion and ultimate level Digimon cannot just revert to their rookie form at will. They have to wait for the Digimon to run out of energy first."

"Doesn't that create a problem?" Tentomon asked. "Digimon at the champion and ultimate level can be… pretty big."

Gennai nodded. "That's very true. We're lucky those Tamers are particularly resourceful."

Izzy kept eyeing Henry's Digivice. "Cody, hand me your Digivice."

Cody reached into his pocket and took out his D-3. Izzy took it and sat it next to the D-Power and the D-Tector. They all were certainly different in design. There was another comparison Izzy needed to make.

"Joe, hand me your Digivice."

Joe reached into his bag and searched for his Digivice. Izzy started to get nervous when Joe was taking longer than he should have. Pretty soon, Joe started scrambling and tossing his things out of his bag. "Something wrong, Joe?" Gomamon asked.

"M-My Digivice! It's not here!"

Gennai's eyes widened. "You LOST your Digivice?!"

Joe looked to be deep in thought. "I couldn't have lost it! I haven't opened my bag at all and I sure didn't take it out. The only time my bag opened was …"

That's when Joe's eyes widened. It looked like the answer hit him like a ton of bricks. Gomamon jumped off the couch and inched slowly towards his partner.

"Joe … ?"

"Yesterday," Joe muttered slowly. "Gomamon … remember when we bumped into that woman?"

"That Ms. Mackenzie lady?" Gomamon guessed. "She has your Digivice?"

"Joe, what's going on?" Izzy finally asked.

"I was heading off to a meeting yesterday morning. And while I was on my way there, I accidentally ran into an older woman named Layla Mackenzie. Our bags opened up and everything fell to the ground. I'm guessing that in the rush to pick everything up, we must have gotten some of our things mixed up. She must have grabbed my Digivice by mistake!"

Izzy was in disbelief. "How could you lose your Digivice?!"

"Izzy, don't worry about it. She said she was the RD in the freshman hall. If anything, I can ask one of the others to get it for me."

Gennai nodded knowingly. "I can see that you haven't lost your curiosity, Izzy. During the next few months, you'll learn about your new teammates, the Tamers. And I have a feeling that this evil will show itself soon. That's why you may need some help."

"Help?" the three DigiDestined and their Digimon repeated.

Gennai smirked. "I'll explain that when the time comes. Until then, I need to return to the Digital World and recruit a couple of helpers. For that, I'll need Armadillomon."

Armadillomon didn't expect that one. He pointed at himself. "Me?"

"You've got a big job ahead of you and I'll need your help," Gennai replied.

Armadillomon jumped off the couch and walked to Gennai's side. Izzy wished he had all the answers, but there was a lot he still didn't know. He didn't know what this threat Gennai spoke of was. He was also curious about this help that Gennai spoke of and the power that they have yet to see from the Tamers.

Gennai headed over to the laptop while Izzy opened up the Digi-Port. "Good luck, my friends. You'll need it. Saving the world and going through college won't be easy."

With that, Gennai and Armadillomon went through the Digi-Port. Izzy still had his questions, but for right now, he'd take what he had. After that visit, Izzy turned back to his friends.

"Um… I guess we're done for the day."

Joe sighed. "Come on, Gomamon. We'd better call Tai and Matt to get my Digivice."

"I've got a test tomorrow," Cody said. "I guess I'd better get home."

"Wait a second, guys," Izzy called out. "Maybe we shouldn't call it a day just yet. Come with me to the university to give Henry and Koichi their Digivices and Takato his Blue Card. And help me explain to them what we just heard."

"Being a freshman in college is hard enough," Joe thought. "I don't think this'll strike them as good news."

"We'd better go anyway," Izzy muttered. "And maybe you can get your Digivice back."

Everyone concurred with that. Joe picked up Gomamon and Tentomon flew over to Izzy. With everyone present, it was time to head over to Odaiba University.

* * *

With the mystery solved, The Den was up and running again. Once again, it was business as usual and hundreds of college students packed the cafeteria for lunch. That was good news for Davis. This gave him a chance to have lunch with Kari.

But, while he feasted heartily on a submarine sandwich, salad, potato chips, quesadilla, and Diet Coke, he noticed that Kari hadn't touched her salad. She looked distressed.

"Aren't you hungry, Kari?" Davis asked.

Kari looked over at Davis and just smiled. "Uh… I lost my appetite. I'm not really feeling very hungry."

After knowing her for all these years, Davis felt like he could read Kari like a book. There was something bothering her. And he knew what it was.

"It's TK, isn't it?"

"What makes you say that?" Kari asked in shock.

"Because I know you, Kari," Davis answered. "I know better than anybody what you and TK had. And I know its not easy for you to see him dating again."

"I just feel like it came so soon," Kari said sadly. "I didn't expect him to find someone so quickly. Davis, I feel like he's forgotten all about me. And why wouldn't he? Have you seen that Catherine girl? Perfect, long, blond hair, flawless-looking skin, strong fashion sense, a French accent. She's just so beautiful and I'm so …"

That got Davis's ire up. "Don't even say it!"

"You don't even know what I was going to say."

"It doesn't matter! I know what you're thinking and it's not true, Kari! How could you _ever_ doubt yourself?! You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my life! And that's not just outside, it's inside too! Some French girl can only wish to be like you!"

Kari smiled. "You really believe that?"

Davis reached over and held Kari's hand. "I really do."

Kari looked into Davis's eyes and smiled. "I want to apologize to you, Davis. I don't know why I'm so concerned about what TK's doing."

"You're not totally over him," Davis answered matter-of-factly. "But… you're getting there. You were together for almost six years, Kari. I don't blame you for feeling the way you do."

Kari hung her head down. "I don't deserve someone like you, Davis. You've been so patient with me. Anyone else would have kicked me and my excess baggage to the curb."

Davis smirked. "I'm not like anyone else. I thought you'd understand that by now."

Kari giggled. "You're right. I should know that by now. Maybe I should just put this behind me. I didn't mean to slap TK like that. I should go apologize. And I should wish him and Catherine the best."

"I don't know if you should go that far," Davis said skeptically. "I'm honestly not sure how much further it'll go between those two."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because Catherine's going out with someone else this Friday."

Kari scowled. "I knew it! It didn't take long for her to hurt him. Is TK taking it well?"

"He thinks he can still win her over. But what's got him mad is who she's going out with."

"Who's she going out with?"

"Tai."

Kari nearly did a spit take with her Diet Pepsi. "TAI?! My BROTHER, TAI?! That French hussy's moving in on my BROTHER?!"

Davis could have calmed Kari down with some simple soothing words. He could have relieved all of her anxieties. It was a simple task. But instead, he started snickering.

"You know, it's kinda funny. If Tai marries Catherine, that'd make you two sister-in-laws."

That crack resulted in Davis getting Diet Pepsi splashed on him. Kari got up and started storming out. After checking on his goggles, Davis quickly gave chase.

"Kari, I was just joking! They hardly know each other. Well, they did meet up in France seven years ago. But, KARI! Where are you going? I'm sorry!"

**

* * *

**

Takuya sat up off the couch, sleep still in his eyes. His History book was laid flat on his stomach, opened to the last page that he had read before falling asleep. Looking around him, Takuya groggily sat up.

The living room looked like a complete mess as Tigrismon, Azumon, and Turtwigmon ran around, playing a game of tag.

The Warrior of Flame groaned before he closed the History book, putting it down on the coffee table. Koichi was sitting in the seat next to him, watching some show about the CSI. The blue-haired boy laughs. "Is that how we do our studying now?"

Takuya doesn't laugh. He just merely looks around at the three playing Digimon. "Where's Koji?"

"In his room, studying for some test he has tomorrow."

"Figures. I swear, I don't know how he does it," Takuya said, looking at the time. He slept for a long time! He had a test in his World History class tomorrow, and he wasn't sure, but… he's pretty positive that he had homework in his Calculus class, as well.

Putting his face in his palms, Takuya groans loudly.

Koichi glances over at his seemingly distressed friend. "Everything okay?"

"I don't know, man. School's barely started and I'm already up to my neck in unfinished homework." Koichi laughs for a second time. "Yeah, you're definitely in college now."

A crash coming from the kitchen is soon heard, quickly followed by some mischievous giggling. "What did you guys just break?!" Koichi yelled before getting up and walking towards the kitchen.

Takuya got up and walked in his room, closing the door behind him. Between the television and the playing Digimon, he would never be able to concentrate. As soon as he walked in the room, he eyed his Calculus book with horror.

Math really wasn't his forte, so every time he was faced with math [besides money, of course]… he would much rather go up against Lucemon again. He flipped on his small radio, tuning into the clearest station.

He sits down at his desk, prepared to face this nightmare called homework. But, when he actually opened the book, he was looking at things that seemed to be a completely different language.

"What… ?"

There was no way he was going to be able to do this on his own. That's when a light bulb lit up in his brain. A certain _someone_ popped in his head as soon as he thought of everyone in his class. Time to make a phone call.

**

* * *

**

It didn't happen very often, but Rika was honestly feeling at ease. For the first time in a while, Gatomon and Renamon were actually starting to get along. They were both sitting on the couch with Calumon, calmly watching TV. They were all watching the NBA Finals [tape delayed for fans in Japan, of course] and it looked like there were no signs of hostility between the two.

That gave Rika the opportunity she wanted. With the Digimon getting along and Kari having lunch with Davis, that gave Rika the chance to do her homework in peace. It was times like these that she almost expected Jeri to ask her something, but she was off starting her new job at the OU library. Zoë had been locked up in her room all day, so technically Rika was on her own and she wouldn't have it any other way.

Or at least she was on her own until she saw pair of purple fingertips grab a hold of her pen. It was Impmon, who was standing on top of her desk.

"What is it, Impmon?"

"Just wanted to talk to you for a little bit," Impmon said. "We haven't talked in a while. So how you doin'?"

"Just fine," Rika muttered. "A little busy, but fine."

"Last I heard, you and Ryo had some kind of falling out. What happened between the two of you?"

That was the last thing Rika wanted to hear. Many had hinted towards it and Rika was able to cut them off before they went any further. This was the first time she was given that harsh reminder. Even being vaguely reminded of what happened was enough for her. So she grabbed her math book and clocked Impmon over the head with it.

"I don't want to talk about it!" Rika snapped. "How did you find out about that, anyway?!"

"I have my sources," Impmon smirked. "So what happened? Does it have anything to do with-?"

"I said I don't want to talk about it! Go away!"

Rika pushed Impmon off her desk and went back to her studies, trying to forget everything she just heard. Seeing he wouldn't be getting anywhere, Impmon walked over to Kari's bed.

"She still mad about that?"

"It hit her pretty hard," Renamon answered.

"What happened?" Calumon asked.

"I doubt she'd want to hear it," Renamon replied. "If she does not wish to remember, then I shall respect that."

Rika started to feel better. Renamon was the best friend she had and it relieved her that she was willing to keep quiet about what happened just for her.

Impmon looked over at the TV screen. "What are you two watching?"

"Basketball!" Calumon answered excitedly. "Finals!"

Impmon looked at the TV curiously. "Another one of those weird human sports? So who's who? I see a bunch of guys in gold jerseys and a bunch of guys in gray jerseys."

"The humans in the gray jerseys are the Nets," Renamon explained. "And they are about to crush the humans in the gold jerseys, the Lakers."

At that moment, Zoë walked out of her room. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail and she had a small t-shirt and pajama pants on. She clearly hasn't left her room all day. The blonde walked towards the kitchen, yawing.

"Uh-uh!" Gatomon disagreed. "The Lakers are about to take it!"

"Nets."

"Lakers."

"Nets!"

"Lakers!"

"NETS!"

"LAKERS!"

It was the first argument that had erupted between Renamon and Gatomon in a while. Rika was impressed that they held it in for so long. It looked like Calumon WAS having a positive influence on them. Luckily, this particular instance of bickering was cut off by the phone.

Rika reached over and picked it up. "Hello?"

"_Uh, Rika?_"

She wasn't sure, but Rika was pretty sure it was Takuya.

"Takuya?"

"_Yeah! What's up! Is Kari there?_"

This caught Rika's attention. Although Zoë never pondered on it, she has made it very clear that her and Takuya aren't on very good terms with each other. At least not right now. So for him to be calling for Kari and NOT for Zoë was something juicy, indeed.

"You mean Zoë?" Rika corrected, a small grin forming on her face.

"_Nooooo… I mean Kari_."

Rika had to hold in her giggle before she answered. "Hold on."

She set the phone down before she walked in the kitchen. Zoë had just got done with a glass of orange juice when Rika walked in. "Phone," was all she said. "Who is it?" Zoë asked as she walked over to the phone.

Rika shrugged as she walked back over to her desk.

Zoë picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"_Hello_?"

Unfortunately, Zoë knew exactly who it was as they spoke. She knew Takuya's voice over the phone by heart. She shot Rika's back a death glare.

"Takuya?"

"_Yes… _?"

"… Is there anything in particular you wanted?"

He did a weird snorting sound through the receiver. "_Not you. Where's Kari_?"

This surprised her. "Kari? Why are you looking for Kari?"

"_If you MUST know, I was going to ask her about our Calculus homework_."

Zoë did NOT believe him, in the least bit. "Mm-hmm. Well, she's not here right now. I'll tell her you called, though," she tried to sound as sweet as she could.

"_That would be highly appreciated_."

"Bye, now."

"_Bye, Zee_."

She hung up. It was their first 'conversation' where they hadn't ended up being even angrier at each other. Progress was being made. But, the fact that he was calling for Kari kind of irked the Warrior of Wind, but she wasn't about to make any kind of fuss about it. But, she definitely wasn't going to inform Kari that he called, either.

The phone rang as soon as she hung it up. Thinking it was Takuya calling back, she answered it.

"Ugh, what now?"

"_Umm… hi, is Rika there_?"

It was a voice that she didn't recognize. "Uh, yeah. Who's calling?"

The person on the other end hesitated somewhat, before replying, "_An old friend_."

Puzzled, Zoë could only say one thing. "Okay."

She walked over to Rika, handing her the phone. The girl looked up at her, confused. Zoë shrugged her shoulders. "Someone who says their an old friend." Rika puts the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"_Hey there! It's been a long time since I've heard the sound of your voice."_

Just the sound of that voice made Rika's blood boil. "How did you get this number?!"

"_I got it from Takato. I see you're your usual, cheerful self."_

"I'll be a lot more cheerful as soon as I hang up!"

"_Rika! I'm guessing that you aren't exactly happy to hear from me?"_

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Rika muttered sarcastically.

"_I can tell you're still pretty upset. What if I told you that it won't last much longer?"_

"What are you talking about?"

"_I'm not staying as long as I thought. I'm coming back a lot sooner than you might think. You feeling better?"_

Rika didn't feel better at all. "Are you THAT thick-headed?! You think THAT'S what made me mad?!"

"_You mean it's not?"_

"NO! You can stay in Hong Kong for all I care! Get back to me the day you finally get a clue!"

With that, Rika hung up. After that phone call, she saw four curious Digimon and a puzzled Zoë staring right at her, wanting to know what just happened. But Rika intended to stay quiet. She didn't want any reminder.

She didn't want to hear from _Ryo Akiyama_ again.

**

* * *

**

Sunday was starting to wind down. As a graduate student attempting to get her Master's Degree, Ms. Mackenzie knew she had a lot of work to do. Aside from her duties as Resident Director, she also had a lot of homework left from her classes. Work that she had yet to get started on. Her desk had a stack of books on it, which she would be studying with the whole night.

Now it was time for her to get to work. So she got her bag and turned it upside-down. As she expected, a pile of books fell out along with several calculators and small boxes. But she couldn't help but notice that something else fell out.

A small little device fell out of the bag. It looked like a small, handheld electronic device with a clear screen in the middle. Ms. Mackenzie picked it up and eyed it closely. That's when she realized something.

"Just like the prophecy …"

Before she could analyze it any further, someone knocked on her door. She nearly jumped out of her seat, obviously caught off-guard. She placed the small apparatus on her desk and walked over to answer the door. She opened the door to reveal the same young man she bumped into the day before.

"Hi! You probably don't remember me, but … we bumped into each other yesterday and … I'm afraid we might have gotten some of our things mixed up. Do you have a … small little electronic gadget that you might've picked up by mistake?"

Ms. Mackenzie looked over at her desk. She slowly walked over and picked it up. She eyed it one more time, confirming that it was the same type of device she saw before.

"I remember you, Joe. And you're right. I believe this does belong to you."

She slowly handed the electronic device to Joe and got a good look at him. She wanted to make sure to remember him.

Ms. Mackenzie gave him a cryptic smile. "I'll see you around."

Joe nodded. "Thanks. I'll … see you later."

Ms. Mackenzie watched as Joe walked down the hall and towards the exit of the freshman hall. She began to remember what she had seen before she arrived at Odaiba University.

"_The forces of good and evil shall engage in a fierce battle_," she muttered to herself. "_Those that hold a Digivice shall be pitted against the powers of the darkness_."

That's how the prophecy goes. And Ms. Mackenzie could feel that she would see the prophecy come true before her very eyes.

**

* * *

**

Something was definitely wrong. Marcus's grandfather was back after almost being gone for a year, and now that he was back, he kept dodging the thing that everybody wanted to know. Where have you been?

Not to mention the extraordinary coincidence that two more members out of the family had 'left' at the same time. Marcus's father, Spencer Damon, and Naomi's older brother, Jeremiah Avalon. And they hadn't come back with their grandfather. Marcus knew that his Grandpa Homer was hiding something, and it only became more and more apparent as the day wore on.

Thankfully, his mother and younger sister pulled up to the driveway. Marcus had never been so happy to see them in all his life. Sure, Kristy had always gotten on his nerves like any other younger sister, but he admittedly missed them over this past week.

"Mom!" He yelled as he ran up and hugged his mother. Sarah embraced her son; she had missed him, as well. "Marcus! You haven't been causing any trouble, have you?" She asks, a stern expression on her face. Marcus playfully rolled his eyes. "No, Mom."

Kristy hopped out the car and ran towards them. Marcus stretched out his arms, ready to give his little sister a big hug. However, she ran straight past him and into their grandfather's arms.

"GRANDPA!" Kristy screamed as Homer picked her up and spun her around.

"My little one! You certainly have grown!"

"I'm almost as tall as Mommy now!"

"Really? My, that's awfully big for my little gumdrop."

"Grandpa, I'm twelve."

Homer merely laughed as Sarah timidly walked up to them. His expression changed as he looked at his daughter. Marcus could see a mix of emotions laced on his mother's face, but he wasn't exactly sure why. Something was definitely wrong.

"Dad."

"Sarah."

They stared each other down a bit more. Homer than stretched his arms out, signaling they could hug. Sarah walked up and hugged her father, feeling like a little girl again.

Doesn't change the fact that he's hiding something, Marcus thought to himself as he headed in the house. He and Naomi had unanimously agreed that their grandfather was somewhere, and Naomi had deducted that her brother and his father were with him. The only question Marcus cared about at that moment was: Where are they? But, he didn't want to spoil the Kodak moment. So he walked in the house, where the Avalon family dog, Shelby ran up to him. "Down!" Marcus said as he grabbed the dog by its collar. He walked in the dining area, where his Aunt Diane and Naomi were setting up for dinner.

"Is your mother out there?" She asked as she saw him enter. Marcus merely nodded his head. Diane squealed as she set the last plate down and walked out the dining area. Naomi glanced at him as she continued to straighten up the table.

Marcus walked up slowly to her, a serious expression on his face. He began to order the silverware. "He is hiding something. I can see it in his eyes," Marcus whispered, catching Naomi's attention. She looked nervously to the front door back to him.

"What do you think's wrong?"

"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out."

"Marcus, don't! He just got back last night." He grunted lowly as Shelby barked and ran outside. "You were the one who wanted to find out!"

"Wherever he was, Grandpa obviously doesn't want to talk about it."

"What if something happened to them?! My Dad, Jeremiah? What if they need help?"

Naomi nearly dropped a cup. "Don't say that!"

Marcus stopped himself, seeing how scared she was becoming. He sighed, not really knowing what else to say. Naomi caught herself and placed the cup down. "Look, just… give him some time. He isn't going anywhere anytime soon. He'll tell us when he's ready."

He wasn't convinced. "I'm giving him a week, or else I'm making him talk." She glared at him. As if on cue, Grandpa Homer walked in. Jetting in front of him was the hyperactive dog, Shelby and trailing behind them was Sarah and Diane, talking and catching up. Kristy was talking her grandfather's ear off about something that had went on at her school that week.

Something that stood out was his grandfather's keychain. It was the same kind of keychain that that 'Professor Norstein' had yesterday.

"Dinner ready, yet?" Grandpa Homer asked, a large grin on his face.

Marcus knew it. Something was definitely wrong.

**

* * *

**

Sitting up in Sora and Mimi's room, Matt didn't waste any time digging in on his leftover lunch. Once he felt any sign of hunger come back, he rushed back to his leftovers. He could see Sora and Mimi trying to work on their fashion designs, but they couldn't help but stare and sweatdrop when they heard the hungry Matt.

"And they say In-Training Digimon have insatiable appetites," Mimi quipped. "Matt, you just ate!"

"I got hungry again," Matt replied casually. "Hey, Mimi, you gonna eat that biscuit?"

Mimi sighed. "Go ahead."

Matt reached over and started feasting on Mimi's biscuit. Mimi and Sora sweatdropped. So did the two fashion guinea pigs, Biyomon and Palmon.

Mimi looked over at her business partner. "Sora, you know I love having your boyfriend over and all, but I hope he won't distract you. We're on a deadline."

"Don't worry about a thing, Mimi," Sora responded assuredly. "I know we have to have this order ready by Friday. I can totally ignore Matt."

Matt frowned. "Hey!"

Sora giggled. "Sorry, Matt. You know what I mean. There's not a thing that'll distract me." That's when the phone started to ring. "Matt, could you answer that for me?"

Matt reached over and answered the phone. "Hello? You've reached the main office of S & M."

"MATT!" Sora snapped. "I told you not to call it that!"

Matt couldn't help but chuckle. So did the voice on the other end of the line.

"_Great to see you remember that one, Matt."_

"Tai? Where are you? I haven't seen you since you left."

"_I'm on my way back. In fact, I should be back on campus in a few minutes."_

"What? Tai, I can hardly hear you! Its some kinda noise in the background! What is that?"

"_Oh, you'll see! Why don't you come down to the parking lot and find out? Bring Sora and Mimi! Hell, drag your brother out, too! I want him to see this!"_

"What is it?"

"_You'll see!"_

Before Matt could ask anymore questions, Tai hung up. All he could hear now was a dial tone. All eyes in the room were on him now.

Matt blinked. "Uh… Tai wants us to go to the parking lot."

**

* * *

**

With the hours passing by quickly, Davis decided to go back to the hall with Kari. Kari was starting to feel a lot better about everything and she appeared to be more comfortable around Davis. So far, the goggle boy had done his job. Davis was heading over towards the hall, but Kari stopped about halfway.

"What is it, Kari?"

Kari waved towards the distance. "JERI!"

Davis looked over and saw that Jeri Katou was, in fact, walking along. She had just come out of the library and when she saw Kari waving her way, she ran over.

"How was work?" Kari asked cheerfully.

Jeri shrugged. "Being a receptionist isn't exactly what I'd call 'exciting work', but hey … it pays my way through college. So what are you two up to?"

"We're just heading back," Kari answered. "I hope everything's still in its place."

"Rika and Zoë are more than capable of handling things," Jeri pointed out. "But just to be sure, we'd better head back."

"You coming, Davis? Uh … Davis?"

Davis was looking over at the freshman hall. Matt, Sora, and Mimi were walking out. Right behind them came TK and Ken and behind them came Joe, who was carrying Gomamon. Behind Joe came Izzy, Takato, Takuya, Koichi, Koji, and Henry, with Terriermon on his shoulder. They were all heading towards the parking lot.

"Think we should see what the fuss is about?" Davis suggested.

Kari thought about it. "Uh … couldn't hurt … I guess. Let's go."

Davis, Kari, and Jeri all followed the others towards the parking lot. It was starting to get crowded over there and Davis was getting curious. So he walked over to Takato to see if he knew what was up.

"Takato? What's up?"

"I don't know," Takato said. "I'm in the dark on this one. Izzy dropped by to give me my Blue Card and Henry his Digivice and … to tell us some information that you might find very interesting."

"Is any of it the reason we're out here?"

"No."

"Then I'm not interested right now."

Takato sweatdropped as Davis walked over to someone who was likely to know what was going on. He walked over to Matt.

"Matt? What's going on?"

Matt shook his head. "I have no idea. Tai just said he wanted us out here, but I don't know why."

No one was sure why they were all waiting in the parking lot. The silence was almost eerie. But the uneasy silence was soon broken … with the revving of a loud engine. The noise caught everyone by surprise and they all looked around to see where it was coming from. It was Davis who saw it first.

"Hey, look!"

Everyone turned to their left to see a bright light coming from the distance. It was a pair of headlights coming from a vehicle, which was approaching the parking lot. As soon as it got closer, everyone saw what it was.

It was a motorcycle.

With quick speeds, the motorcycle drove up and was driving circles around everyone. Then it came to a halt and started revving loudly. Davis inched towards the bike. It was a 2005 Honda Rebel.

The driver turned off the ignition and stepped off. He was wearing a black leather jacket over a white tank top with a pair of blue jeans and black boots. He wore a helmet with shark teeth designed by the visor. He slowly removed the helmet and as he did … hair puffed up.

It was Tai.

Tai grinned. "So what do you guys think?"

Everyone's jaw was wide-open. They were all in shock at what they were seeing. Even Davis couldn't believe what he was seeing. Tai had actually gone out … and gotten a motorcycle. After a long, awkward silence, Kari finally stepped forward.

Tai smiled. "What do you think, Kari?"

"Tai, what is this?"

"It's my new motorcycle! Awesome, huh?"

Kari seemed to be in a state of disbelief. "Tai … I … I …"

"Just be honest. Tell me what you think."

Kari sighed. "Tai … you're my brother … and I love you very much. And it really hurts me to say this. But … … … … **HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND**?!?!"

"Calm down, Kari," Matt said coolly. "Let me handle this." Matt scooted Kari towards Davis and walked over to his best friend. "Tai … buddy … … … … … **HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND**?!?!"

Tai sweatdropped. "What do you mean?"

That's when Sora stepped forward. "Matt, calm down. I think we should have a calm, cool third party handle this." That's when she turned to Tai. "Tai … what's THIS supposed to be?"

"Isn't it great?!" Tai grinned. "I just bought it a few hours ago! Gotta love the power of that 234cc engine!"

"You never cared about a 234cc engine before!" Sora pointed out. "What made you suddenly decide to get a motorcycle?"

"The urge to do something daring," Tai explained. "Come on, Sora. You know that lately I've been feeling a little … old. But I found the perfect way to feel young again. I just had to make a totally drastic change. And what could be more drastic than getting one of these babies? The feeling of the open road, the wind through my hair, and just the rush of riding down the street in my hog. There's no better way to feel young!"

Sora blinked. "I … don't know what to say. That sounds so … so … so …"

"Awesome?" Tai offered.

"Twisted," Sora countered. "You're doing this because you feel old?! Tai, I … I … I … …" She looked back at everyone else. "A little help? What do I want to say here?"

"**HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND**?!?!" both Kari and Matt shouted.

"You don't like it?" Tai asked confusedly.

"NO!" Kari snapped. "Tai, this is crazy! A motorcycle's really dangerous! You could get hurt or worse! You could … … you could … … Davis, help me out here!"

Davis had only one question. "Hey, Tai… can I ride it?"

Tai shook his head. "No."

"Then, I'm with Kari on this one."

"I can't believe you, Tai!" Matt growled. "When are you going to get it through your thick skull that you aren't old?!"

"You know, you should be blaming your little brother, too. He's part of the reason I did this."

That got TK's attention. "Huh?! ME?!"

Tai smirked. "We'll see who Catherine likes better: You … or the guy with the motorcycle."

Kari put a hand on her forehead. "I can't believe it. He did it for that French girl. My head hurts. I'm going back in."

"I'm coming with you, Kari," Jeri said.

Takuya jumped up and followed the two of them. "Hey, Kari!" She looked back at the goggled boy. She sighed as she kept walking. "What is it, Takuya?"

"I called earlier looking for you. Did we have any homework in Professor Marquez's class?" Kari's eyes burst opened as she suddenly remembered. She had homework to finish! "Oh no!" She yelled before dashing back to the freshman hall, leaving Takuya and Jeri in her dust.

Izzy walked over to Tai and just shook his head. "I think we should hold a memorial."

"You really think Tai will get himself killed on that contraption?" Tentomon asked.

"No, I think we should hold a memorial for Tai's sanity."

With that, Izzy walked away with Tentomon in his arms. Joe, carrying Gomamon, was next to walk up to Tai.

"Uh … I'll reserve judgment."

"Thanks, Joe."

"Uh huh. And if you break every bone in your body on that thing, you know who to call. If anything, this could be good practice for me."

Tai sweatdropped. "Thanks, Joe."

As soon as Joe left, Takato, Henry, and Koichi walked over to the motorcycle. They examined the bike closely, checking every part. Not knowing Tai as long as the other DigiDestined have, they were a little more fascinated with Tai's choice in motorcycle.

"Looks like it's in good shape," Takato noted.

"I always wondered what it'd be like to take a ride on one of these things," Terriermon thought. "When are you getting one of these, Henry?"

Henry shook his head. "Not for a very long time, if ever."

Tai just shrugged and turned to the remaining DigiDestined present. "Doesn't ANYBODY have anything good to say?"

Always ready to compliment his idol, it was Davis who spoke up. "It's a really nice bike!"

Tai nodded. "Thank you, Davis. Anybody else?"

"No, the rest of us think you're an idiot," Matt replied casually.

Tai frowned and put his helmet back on. "Fine! You can think whatever you want, but I'm going for a ride." He walked towards his motorcycle and got on. He revved the engine loudly. "Be back later."

After a brief demonstration of the 234cc engine's power, Tai rode off into the sunset. Everyone could only watch in amazement. After a long and awkward silence, Davis decided to try and lighten the mood.

"Well … it _is_ a nice bike."

Everyone just shook their heads and walked away, except for TK and Takato.

"If he thinks that's going to win him Catherine, then he's got another thing coming," TK growled. "I may not know her as well as I'd like to, but I don't think she's that shallow that she'd pick Tai over me just because he has a motorcycle."

"And what do you drive?" Davis sarcastically pointed out.

TK hung his head down. "My busted Toyota. Hey, it's still in good enough shape to make those pizza deliveries."

Davis looked in the sky and saw the sun going down. "I still have homework. We'd better go back."

"Wait a second, guys."

Davis and TK stopped in their tracks and turned to Takato, who had a serious look on his face.

"Izzy came by to talk to me and Henry earlier. There's something you should know …"


	13. Catfight

**College Years: FRESHMEN FRENZY**

**EPISODE THIRTEEN: Ends of the Spectrum **

Bokomon sighed as he stopped in his tracks to look at his companion, Neemon. The two Digimon were at the very top of Baihumon's old castle, in the library, looking for anything that could assist them in their current situation.

The past five years hasn't been very pleasant for the two Digimon, especially Bokomon. With the Digimon Sovereigns off in the Real World with the Legendary Warriors, Bokomon has noticed that things in the Digital World have begun to crumble. He has been able to hold a little order throughout his world, however. Despite the help of Neemon (who wasn't that helpful, by the way), most Digimon have begun to riot, ready for the return of the Harmonious Ones.

It has even gone as far as certain Digimon forming groups or organizations, whose sole purpose is to bring the Sovereigns back to the Digital World, even by force. This method was COMPLETELY unacceptable to Bokomon in so many ways, the only problem with punishing these extremists is that he wasn't too sure who are behind them. If he does find them, however, Bokomon will try his best to give the punishment. Tigrismon may have a greater destiny than any other Digimon he's ever met, but Bokomon did nurse him from the beginning, and that was his little baby, after all.

Besides these secret organizations, Digimon have been disappearing left and right and word is out that the Black Gears had made an unwelcome return. And in the last week, more Digimon had disappeared. And the sighting of humans was just another thing of many that compelled Bokomon's giant mind. A group of humans were spotted in the ancient ruins of the great King Drasil, but he has heard no word of them since then. How did humans get to the Real World without the use of a Digivice, and did they have anything to do with the recent disappearance of Digimon?

What they were doing now were searching Baihumon's large and massive library for anything that would tell them how humans can enter their world without any inside help. Unless… they _were_ getting inside help…

"I've got it!" Bokomon shouted, making Neemon jump right back up.

"They've had to be getting inside help," Bokomon explained once he saw his companion's confused face. "The Gazimon that came here earlier said he saw a human brutally whipping a Digimon before tossing what he said was a Black Gear. Then the Digimon walked away with the human somewhere."

"Inside? Like… from inside here?" Neemon asked.

"Yes! How would they have gotten inside _without_ help?"

"Umm…"

Bokomon had light bulbs going all off inside his head. "The Gazimon said that the Digimon looked huge and metallic…"

"Uh, Bokomon?"

The small Scholar Digimon, however, didn't hear him. "But, what I'm concerned about is that humans really ARE out here abducting Digimon. And if nobody else is going to stand up for the Digimon, then I'll do it."

"Bokomon?" Bokomon began pacing back and forth. "No, wait… I can't do that. I must've been crazy to believe that *I* could make a difference." "Bokomon?"

"But… I did make a difference! I assisted the Legendary Warriors to defeat-"

"**BOKOMON**!"

Bokomon nearly jumped out of his pink belt. "My goodness, what is it Neemon?" Neemon tilted his head sideways. "How did they get it in here?" "Huh? What do you mean?"

"You said they were in here. Wouldn't we have seen them?" Bokomon sweatdropped. A small frown formed on his face. Even after all these years, Neemon still managed to awe Bokomon with his stupidity. Not wasting any time, Bokomon hopped over, grabbed Neemon's waistband, and snapped it.

"OW!" Neemon yelled, his eyes becoming wide.

"I can't believe you just asked that Neemon," Bokomon crossed his arms, an angry scowl on his face. Until he heard footsteps. Many of them. Neemon apparently heard them too, because he looked back in the direction where they were coming from.

Each of them grabbing a book, the two Rookie-level Digimon crept their way closer to the footsteps. Turning down an aisle of books, they inched down slowly. The footsteps stopped. Neemon tapped on Bokomon's shoulder. "What?" Bokomon whispered, looking back.

But, when he did, he saw an old friend.

Neemon's eyes widened. "Gennai!"

It had been a VERY long time, but indeed it was young Gennai walking down the aisle slowly towards them. And he wasn't alone. Behind him were a quartet of Digimon. An Agumon, a Gabumon, an Armadillomon, and a Hawkmon.

Bokomon, Neemon, and all the other Legendary Warriors had met Gennai five years ago when Fanglongmon had deleted Azulongmon. The young warrior told them that in order to bring back order, Takuya and the rest of the Warriors must defeat Fanglongmon once and for all.

"I've been looking all over for you two," Gennai smiled.

Bokomon walked up to him, Neemon following closely behind. "Who told you we were here?" "The Floramon at the desk. I have something important to talk to you two about," Gennai said, motioning towards the four Digimon behind him. "I brought the DigiDestined Digimon, as well."

This caught Bokomon off guard. He's read about the DigiDestined with Digimon partners and all the good they've done for the Digital World over the years. But, he would've never imagined meeting them in person.

"Once I found them, I knew I only needed to recruit two more Digimon with hearts of gold. And those two are you," Gennai continued.

"Recruit us?" Bokomon repeated. "Do you need help, Gennai?"

"I'm sure you've heard about what's been happening in the Digital World," Gennai explained. "I believe that the recent abductions are linked to something much greater. I've informed the DigiDestined and their allies about what I know so far, but until I'm 100 percent sure what we're up against, I don't want to drag them away from their studies. After all, college is a difficult task in itself. That's why I'll need your help."

"What do you want us to do?" Neemon asked.

"As a full-fledged team of six, I'll need you to wander around the Digital World digging up any information that you can about this recent threat, including the one using Black Gears to corrupt Digimon. In the meantime, I must meet up with the my other colleagues, who are also concerned about this evil on the horizon."

"Well, I don't know how much help we can be, but I definitely don't have a problem doing some dirty work, Gennai," Bokomon confidently said. That's when Neemon stepped in, a dreadful look on his face. "Dirty work? I'm gonna have to bring an extra pair of pants!"

Bokomon just rolled his eyes. Then, he thought of something. "But, Gennai, what if we meet up with these humans or one of the Digimon under control of the Black Gears?"

"I believe I know what Bokomon is about to say," Hawkmon added. "Should we find ourselves in a perilous situation, we wouldn't be able to Digivolve without our partners."

Bokomon nodded, impressed with Hawkmon's intellect. "Precisely. Me and Neemon can only do so much. We aren't able to Digivolve."

"I've taken that into account," Gennai answered. He took out a small blue box. "Agumon?"

Agumon stepped forward and took the blue box in his hand. "What's this?"

"In case you meet up with danger, open this box. This is one of the few DigiCores left. But, ONLY use this in case of extreme emergency. This should only be used as a last resort."

The six Digimon all gathered around the DigiCore. There seemed to be a light shining from within. Agumon couldn't help but be a little curious, but he also recognized the seriousness in Gennai's tone. This was a last resort.

Gennai started heading back down the aisle, leaving the Digimon. "Good luck, my friends. I'll stay in touch."

"But what do we do if we find something?" Bokomon asked.

"I'll know where to find you," Gennai grinned. "Trust me, I always seem to be around when I'm really needed. Call it good timing. Good luck."

Gennai walked down the aisle, took a left, and was gone, leaving this ragtag group of six on their own. They stayed still momentarily, letting what happened sink in. Then they stared at the DigiCore, watching its inner glow. Finally, Agumon stepped forward.

"Where do we start looking, Agumon?" Gabumon asked.

Agumon sighed. "The nonfiction section."

* * *

Two weeks had passed and the third week of college was about to begin. Things already weren't going Kari's way. She had homework coming out of her ears and this week wouldn't prove to be any easier. And things never got easier, especially with the continuing drama that was her life.

One of the things that ailed her was making noise at that very second. Once again, she heard the revving of Tai's motorcycle outside by the parking lot. Even from the sanctuary of her dorm room, she could still hear the loud 234cc engine and so did her two roommates and so did the Digimon tenants.

Jeri looked out the window. "Well… it's been two weeks and Tai still has his motorcycle."

Renamon turned to Gatomon and smirked. "Told ya so."

Gatomon shrugged. "It seemed like a sure bet. So what, I owe you a Coke."

Kari groaned. "I thought Tai would have gotten rid of that thing by now! Every time he rides that thing, I feel like he'll split his head open on the sidewalk! Why does he still have it? Catherine doesn't like him any more with it than without it."

"It's a male thing," Jeri answered. "It probably makes him feel macho or something."

"I'm glad Davis isn't like that," Kari noted.

"Is that why I saw Davis sitting on the seat this morning?" Gatomon pointed out. "He was going 'VROOM, VROOM'!"

Kari shook her head again. "Ok, but at least he doesn't actually ride it. He has more sense than that."

That caught Gatomon off-guard. "Davis? Sense?"

Kari sweatdropped. "You know what I mean."

The front door slammed and in walked Zoë, an angry scowl on her face. She threw her Introduction to Psychology book on the couch and walked in the kitchen angrily. Kari and Jeri were baffled at their friend.

Jeri followed the blonde in the kitchen. "Something wrong?"

Zoë opened the fridge, and took out a Coke. She popped it open and took a long gulp. By this time Kari and Gatomon had found their way in the kitchen, also curious about the current tantrum she was having.

After taking her gulp, Zoë frowned at them. "It's that stupid Professor Norstein! We had another test over the computer last night, and my computer shut down on me before I even got to finish! So when I went to tell him about it this morning, I found out he would be out for the week. What is that? How am I supposed to let him know I need to retake it?" The wind started to pick up in the room, which everyone began to notice. "Look, Zoë…" Kari started, but Zoë continued her rave. "What could he possibly need a WHOLE WEEK off for? He's only seventeen! Does he have to go to the prom or something?" Gatomon giggled. "I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be going to the prom if he's a college professor." The wind got a little bit stronger. Kari got worried until the Warrior of Wind caught herself. She breathed in and out, as if she took therapy for this kind of thing.

"I'm cool, I'm cool," she repeated to herself. Jeri sighed, then smiled. "Yeah, Zee, you just need to calm down." The blonde took another gulp of her Coke. Then, another angry scowl come over her face. "And that loser named Takuya said that I was trying to be like that girl Catherine just because I told Koichi I liked the way she has her hair! What is this, high school? That's exactly the reason why we broke up!" She began to rant again.

The name Catherine sparked Kari's senses. "Catherine?" She asked.

Zoë took another gulp of her soda. "Yeah, that French … floozy, as you so eloquently put it," Zoë giggled at the thought; Kari could only smile at her roomy.

"What was she doing with Takuya?" Jeri asked as she walked back over to the living room, followed by Kari, Zoë, and Gatomon.

"He was with Koichi, who was with Kazu and Kenta, who was with TK, who was with Catherine," Zoë explained before taking another gulp of the soda. She frowned again, "So who _is_ Catherine going out with?" she asked.

"Well … she's going back and forth between Tai and TK," Kari answered. "She's not leaning towards anybody. She's supposed to have lunch with TK later."

"I think TK told me about that," Jeri muttered. "It's sounding like he's really interested in her."

"I noticed that, too," Kari said sadly. "Every time he's around her, I see his eyes practically pop out. And every time she talks in that French accent of hers, it's like he's in a trance. I never had that effect on him. He never looked at me that way. I just can't believe it, guys. After all those years and all it took was one French girl for him to forget about me."

That got the attention of the fourth roomy. "All right, that's it!"

Rika took her eyes off her homework and got out of her chair. It looked like she was bothered by something. She angrily walked over towards Kari. Taking a hint, Jeri scooted over and away, leaving the other two roommates with their space. Zoë curiously watched the two of them, sipping on her soda.

Rika started off with a low chuckle. "You know, when we first moved in here, I knew there was something I _didn't_ like about you. I couldn't put my finger on it, but there was something about you that just … irritated me. At first, it was your whole 'Ms. Nice Girl' attitude, always trying so hard to be my friend. Then it was your whole 'Miss Perfect' vibe that you just gave off. You looked like you could never be wrong, no matter what you did and that just frustrated me. But lately, I've been able to look past that. Of course, lately I've found a new reason not to like you."

"Um … why's that?" Kari asked timidly.

"Because you're a weak little crybaby and a poor, pathetic excuse for a woman!"

Kari was in shock. No one had ever called her that before and no one had ever been so harsh with her. Before she could even respond, Rika elaborated further.

"Every single day for the last two weeks, I hear you whine and cry about how TK's already dating. About how he's dating again so soon. About how much he likes this new girl. About how he never looked at you that way. Every day, you just whine and wallow in your self-pity … despite the fact that you, yourself, are already going out with someone else! And I don't know if you've noticed or not, but you have a guy out there who really likes you!

"Any normal woman would see that and be happy for what she has! But not you! You have to spend all your time worrying about what TK does! TK this and TK that! STOP worrying about TK! I've never seen a girl so whipped over her EX-BOYFRIEND! Why don't you stand on your own two feet for once? Suck it up and stop being so frail!"

Kari's eyes widened. "FRAIL?"

That's when Zoë decided to step in. "Whoa, Rika, you're-," but Rika just cut her off, continuing her rant.

"Yes, FRAIL! Emotionally frail! One thing goes wrong and you go off the deep end. Need I remind you of how you reacted when you first heard about TK and Catherine?"

Kari wanted to protest right away. But she stopped herself and decided to look at this through Rika's point of view. She thought about how she did react when hearing about TK's first date with Catherine. She remembered going off the deep end and immediately going out to yell at TK. She even remembered kissing Davis in front of him out of spite. Rika made a good point. Kari realized that she was being emotionally frail.

Kari hung her head down. "You're right. I have been emotionally frail lately. I just … haven't been faced with anything like this before. I don't know how to handle it."

Rika nodded knowingly. "I'll tell you what. Let's go out and have lunch off campus. And while we're there, we can talk about how you can handle this."

"How would you know how to handle this?" Kari asked curiously.

Jeri gasped. "Rika … are you… ?"

Rika held her hand out. "Don't … even say it. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." She paused briefly. "Why don't we all go? You guys are probably better at this sort of thing, anyway."

"Well … I AM pretty hungry…," Jeri said.

Zoë hopped up, "Sure, I'm in."

Before Jeri could agree to tag along, her pager started to go off. She rolled her eyes and reached over to get it. And once she saw it, she groaned.

"Great … bad timing strikes again. I can't make it."

"Then we'll go without you. Kari, Zoë, let's go."

"Wait a minute! Who'll watch Renamon and Gatomon?"

Rika answered Kari's question by shifting her gaze towards Impmon and Calumon. They both had their eyes on the TV screen, but they both noticed they were being watched. They turned around and returned Rika's gaze.

"What?" Impmon asked obliviously.

* * *

One advantage of being a computer science student was that Izzy had access to the computer lab in the basement of the Engineering building, which was reserved for students pursuing such majors. Izzy had a lot to catch up on, especially regarding some of the things he had seen recently.

Over the last two weeks, Izzy had been introduced to the Digimon Tamers, revisited by old ally and friend, Gennai, and met the Legendary Warriors reincarnated. But things just wouldn't end there for Izzy. He had to continue a major project for his class and still balance that with occasionally researching the Digital World.

It wasn't easy to balance that, since he had an appointment in about ten minutes. He had to rush over to the freshman dorms since Takato had agreed to let him study Guilmon. Izzy was more than curious about that Digimon since Takato says he made him out of a drawing.

It was time to go. So Izzy grabbed his bag and put it over his shoulder. Then he picked up Tentomon and started to walk out in a rush. But in his haste, he crashed into someone, dropping Tentomon and spilling some things out of his bag.

Izzy scrambled to pick his supplies up. "Oh, I'm really sorry. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, Izzy. Very interesting little gadget you have here."

Izzy looked up and saw he had bumped into Professor Onodera. And she had picked up Izzy's Digivice from the ground and had her eye on it. It was almost as if she recognized it.

Professor Onodera slowly handed Izzy his Digivice. Once she did, she pointed at Tentomon.

"Stuffed animal?"

Izzy sweatdropped. "Oh … you bet! He's … more of a good luck charm. I hardly go anywhere without it."

Professor Onodera raised an eyebrow. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Izzy. How are those freshman programs looking?"

"Looking good. Nothing lower than a C, so far. I'd better get going. I'll see you later, Professor."

Izzy picked up his bag and Tentomon and started heading out. He wasn't usually that clumsy and that run-in just led him to believe that he was having a bad day.

Maybe things would pick up once he got to Takato's room.

Talley Onodera kept her eye on Izzy as he walked out. To say this was an unexpected discovery would be an understatement. But on this day, Talley had found something very interesting about her Teacher's Aide.

That device looked very familiar to her and she recognized it almost immediately. While it looked different than the ones the Tamers used, she couldn't deny that what she saw was a Digivice. How he got one of those, Talley had no idea. But she had a vague idea.

The gender of the mole had yet to be specified to any of them. It was very possible that the mole in question was Izzy.

Two weeks ago, Yoshino informed them that Professor Thomas H. Norstein also had the same Digivice that she is in possession of. It could be very true that the two of them are working as a team.

Knowing what she had to do, Talley reached for her cell phone and punched her speed dial.

"Sir? It's Talley. I don't think Norstein's working alone …"

* * *

It was nearing the month of September, and two weeks had gone by since Koji moved from Shibuya to go to college at Odaiba University. He had always been pretty disciplined when it came to his schoolwork, especially more than Takuya, whose whole purpose in high school was sports. But, even the Warrior of Light had to admit that the schoolwork was beginning to give him some stress.

He had to study for tests that seemed to come every three days, write ten page papers, do projects, and not to mention the numerous amounts of book reading. _That's for sure_, Koji thought as he remembered his 11th grade Chemistry teacher always saying, 'College is NOT high school!'

And this recent string of revelations that endeared themselves upon the Legendary Warriors never made life easier. With the discovery of Digimon Tamers, and meeting DigiDestined with Digimon partners was something that distracted the Warrior of Light. And the four small Digimon that had decided to call their room home always were a constant distraction.

But, not today. Takuya and Koichi had finally hooked up the game system that they had been desperately trying so hard to hook up in the living room. Now, the four small Sovereign Digimon were playing Super Smash Brothers, yelling at each other in a hilarious way of competition that Koji couldn't help but laugh once or twice at them. "Could you guys keep it down?" The Warrior of Light snapped, always ready to mask his softer side. Everyone that knew him knew it was there, though.

Takuya walked from his room, dressed in a soccer practice uniform. He watched as Azumon flew up in the air. "Beat ya again!" Tigrismon threw down his controller. "You cheated!" Sparks began flying from his feet, an angry scowl plastered on his face. Takuya stepped in. "What have I taught you guys about good sportsmanship?"

Koji hasn't seen Takuya do any homework assignments since they came to Odaiba U, but the past two weeks, Takuya has managed to gain a spot on the soccer team. It was the only thing the goggle head lived for. In high school, Takuya was a popular athlete. It was only natural that he aimed for that title in high school.

"Practice today?" Koji conversationally asked him.

"Yeah, all day. Don't have time for anything else," Takuya explained as he started the game over, the four small Digimon quickly stopping their bickering.

"You know Takuya, you didn't have any assignments to do lately?" Koji asked the Warrior of Flame, his attention back on the paper he was writing.

Takuya frowned, knowing exactly where this was heading to. "Don't worry 'Pops', I got everything under control," the goggle-head confidently said, walking to a closet and taking out a soccer ball.

"I was just curious, because I haven't seen you do anything studying-related."

"Geez, you sound like my Dad, seriously."

"Takuya, college is-"

"Not like high school. Don't you think I know that?"

"I was just reiterating it."

"You were what?" Koji did a double-take and sighed. Words was never Takuya's strong subject. "Nevermind," the Warrior of Light simply said, before turning back to his notebook.

Takuya rolled his eyes angrily, twirling the soccer ball unconsciously on his finger. "Whatever, I'm going to practice. Be back later." And with that, Koji was once again left with the four Sovereign Digimon.

* * *

There was no better way to talk about personal problems than over a latte and a croissant. At least that was how Kari felt. And apparently, Rika felt the same way, because her, Zoë, and Kari ventured down to the coffee shop together. After getting her latte and croissant, the three of them took a table near the window. Things went silent. Kari didn't know where to even begin.

So the outspoken Rika kicked things off. "Why do you do it, Kari? Why do you keep hanging on to something that isn't there? Why can't you just let TK go?"

Kari sighed and took a sip of her latte. "We've just been through so much in our lives. And everything we've gone through, we've been through it together. It's been that way since we were eight-years-old and going through the Digital World for the first time." She let out a smile. "He was looking out for me, even back then. I remember when we were running from Piedmon. I was so scared, but TK was really brave and just wouldn't quit."

Rika thought about that. "Piedmon? Mega Digimon with a bad taste for storytelling."

"You've heard of him?"

"I've heard of just about every Digimon there is. Back in West Shinjuku, I used to be known as the Digimon Queen."

Zoë chuckled. "Queen? You, Rika?" Rika frowned. "Yes, Zoë, queen."

Kari giggled. "I've been called a queen before." Then she shuddered as she thought of when that happened. "On second thought, I'd rather not talk about it."

"So I guess you and TK were really close," Zoë deducted.

"About as close as a couple could ever get. You know, it's sad. TK was my first boyfriend and really the only boy I ever let get that close to me. Sure, I've always had guys like Davis, Matt, Cody, Izzy, and Joe around. But TK was the only one I considered as anything more than a friend. I was even thinking of … going even further with him one day."

"Ok, there's one thing I have to know," Rika said. "What attracted you … to Davis?"

That proved to be a surprisingly easy answer for Kari. "Out of everybody I've known in my life, Davis has the biggest heart. Sure, he can occasionally be obnoxious, cocky, clumsy, or whatever else. But I never questioned his heart. And he's the best friend anybody could ever have.

"He's got a certain innocence that you just can't help but love. He tries so hard and even if he doesn't always succeed, which he rarely does, he never lets it get him down. I've never met anyone with such spirit. And you want to talk about courage? You need look no further than Davis.

"I remember seven years ago when we faced off with an evil Digimon called MaloMyotismon. He had completely obliterated two ultimate-level Digimon effortlessly and looked to be completely invincible. I had never been so scared in my life and I'd never seen TK that afraid, either. Ken, Yolei, and Cody were all scared to death. But Davis never flinched for a second. He knew he didn't stand a chance. We all knew he didn't stand a chance. But he didn't care. He chose to stand up to MaloMyotismon, because he knew somebody had to stop him from taking over both worlds. He was never afraid."

Zoë sucked her teeth and sighed, taking a sip of coffee. "Its something about those goggle heads," she said under her breath, although both Kari and Rika heard her.

Rika shook her head. "That's what baffles me, Kari. He sounds like a great catch. Why keep dwelling on your past? Why dwell on TK?"

"Getting over the breakup's a lot harder than I thought," Kari answered sadly.

"Exactly how long did you guys date?" Zoë asked her. Kari thought about that. She calculated the exact moment when her and TK became an 'official' couple. "Five years, almost six."

Zoë sighed, impressed. "That's a long time. My longest relationship was Takuya, and that was only three years… but we broke up, like, a million times in between that so I can't even say if it was a whole three." "How did you deal with the breakup? You… ARE over him, aren't you?" Kari asked. Rika smirked.

She really had to think about that question. "I'd like to think I am. But… honestly, I really was in love with Takuya. I just didn't feel like putting up with his immaturity so I just gave up on us."

Rika picked up her croissant. "And you never looked back, right?"Zoë smiled at her. "Not once. Although, its only natural to at least THINK about the good times you guys had."Rika rolled her eyes. "Believe it or not… I know how you guys feel."

That caught the both of them by surprise. "You do?"

Rika scowled. "I'm going to share something with you two. Now I'm only doing it to make a point. But after today, we never mention it again, GOT IT?"

"Got it," they said in unison.

Rika closed her eyes again. "A year ago … someone I knew … a friend … a guy … moved away. His name was Ryo Akiyama."

Zoë looked surprised. "I've heard that name before."

Kari looked at the blonde curiously. "You too? It sounds so familiar."

"Can I finish?"

"Sorry," the two of them said.

"I knew Ryo for a long time. We first met when they had the Digimon Grand Prix back home," Rika continued, but when Kari and Zoë exchanged confused glances at her, she sighed. "It's a tournament where we use Digimon cards." They nodded knowingly, realization hitting them.

"He… beat me in that tournament. But, only because of a fluke! The next time we met up was when we went into the Digital World for the first time. You should have seen Kazu and Kenta. They looked like total fanboys, like they had just met their hero. They even called him a legend. And … ok … maybe I'll admit… he was pretty good. I still don't think he's better than me, though.

"I can't explain why I fell for him. There was something different about him that I didn't see in Takato or Henry or any of them. People might say it was because he saved my life a couple of times. But I think it was because Ryo was … a warrior … like me."

"Did you ever tell him how you felt?" Kari asked.

"Oh, please! If there's one thing I'm not and one thing I never will be, it's a romantic! I couldn't just come out and tell him. But that didn't mean I wasn't leaving out subtle hints. I shared my cards with him, bought him lunch, helped him out whenever I could. And I never went anywhere without asking him to come with me. That should have been enough."

Zoë sat up in her seat, interested. "So what happened?"

For the first time since Kari had met her, Rika's tough-girl façade was breaking down. "Last year, he told me he was moving to Hong Kong. His parents moved away and they dragged him along, too. I thought that would be the moment where we'd put aside all the games and tell each other how we felt. But it didn't work out that way, because one day… Ryo just left without saying goodbye.

"I had to find out from Takato and Henry. When they told me that Ryo left, well… you could imagine how that made me feel. That night, I got a call from Ryo in Hong Kong. He thought everything was just great between us and what really got to me was that he was just going on like he didn't realize what he had done. He just talked like he did nothing wrong. Feeling frustrated, I just hung up."

Kari was left almost speechless. "Rika… I had no idea."

"NOW do you see why I never wanted to talk about it?"

To Kari, it all started to make sense. That was the reason why Rika would get so bent out of shape every time someone vaguely hinted at even mentioning his name. It brought back too many bad memories for her.

Rika scoffed. "I don't know what I ever saw in him in the first place. Just because he was always so good and so handsome. It was always like he could do no wrong and he always succeeded at whatever he did. A total Mr. Perfect! I can't tell you how much I HATE …"

Rika stopped in her tracks and started glaring at Kari. Not picking up any of the subtle ironies, Kari just had a blank look on her face. Zoë, however, caught the glare and looked from Kari to Rika, seeing if anything would pop off.

"Rika? What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?" Kari asked.

Rika didn't lose that cold stare. "Uh … no reason. Kari, do you even see the point I'm trying to make?"

"Um … … … … … … … … no."

"Ok, here's the point I want to make," Rika began. "Despite what happened with me and Ryo … did I ever cry about it?"

Kari hesitated. "No."

That's when Zoë cut in. "Hey, there's nothing wrong with crying!" Rika glared at her. "If you don't have a good enough reason to." "Breaking up with your boyfriend _is_ a good enough reason! I cried plenty of times when me and Takuya had our breaks…"

Kari stared at the blonde. "How many times did you guys really break up?" Zoë thought about that, which seemed strange to Kari. A couple that constantly broke up to the point where you can't even remember how many times you've ACTUALLY broken up was doomed to fail.

"Well, the first time I can remember where we were separated was the end of our freshmen year of high school… After we were together for five months, he uses the excuse of not wanting to ruin the friendship! But, I was okay with that because we WERE really good friends, so I'd rather have him as a buddy than a… nobody.

"That same summer, we ended up getting back together, though. And all throughout our sophomore year we were a cool… But, I got the lead in the school play… Which involved kissing… another guy." Rika scoffed in disgust. "He broke up with over a SCHOOL PLAY?" Zoë sighed, suddenly realizing how ridiculous her and Takuya actually were. "It was just a bunch of stupid stuff; Takuya's immaturity, jealousy, stupidity." Kari listened to what Zoë was saying, but something just didn't sit well with her. "It seems like… the one who was the problem was Takuya," she concluded. Zoë and Rika turned to her, and in response, Rika shouted, "He was! Clearly he had trust issues in a relationship and couldn't sort his crap out, but did Zee ever wallow in her self-pity?"

A confused looked flash over the blonde's face. The conversation had completely gotten away from her. Kari seemed to be thinking the same thing because her brows furrowed at Rika, not sure if she should agree.

"Uhh, no?"

"Despite knowing that Ryo may have very well found someone else out in Hong Kong, did *I* ever let it bring me down?"

Kari saw where this was going. "No."

"That's right, I didn't. Because despite our personal feelings, we know that we need to be strong and so should you. You have a lot to learn about being a strong woman. You lack a certain self-reliance. And I can help you find that."

"You can?"

"Absolutely. Stick with me, Kari. And before you know it, you'll be an independent woman who can stand on her own two feet."

And there was the offer. Rika was offering to share what she knew with Kari. On one hand, it was the closest Kari had ever gotten to her roommate since moving in. Maybe this would be a good experience. There was a certain something that she respected about Rika. Perhaps it was the whole independent woman vibe she gave off. It reminded her of Yolei in a lot of ways.

And on the other end of the spectrum, maybe Kari would be a good influence on Rika. She was thinking that some of her better qualities might rub off on her.

It didn't take long for Kari to agree. "I'd like that."

* * *

It was such a beautiful day outside and Guilmon could only look out the window. He wished he could be out there, but he knew he couldn't go outside. Not with so many of the students walking around.

In the meantime, Terriermon was busy entertaining the guests. The DigiDestined guys brought their Digimon so they could keep each other company. And Veemon, Patamon, and Wormmon were more than happy to be there. The four of them were playing poker and Terriermon was wearing a dealer's hat. In the middle of the four was a huge stack of red, white, and blue poker chips.

Terriermon laid down his hand. "Flush. All spades."

Veemon sighed. "I'm out."

Patamon shook his head. "Me too."

Wormmon hesitated. "Oh darn, I was so close."

"What'd you have, Wormmon?" Veemon asked.

Wormmon laid down his cards. "All I had were two pairs of Jacks."

Terriermon sweatdropped. He groaned and pushed the pile of poker chips forward. "Figures. I never COULD win at poker."

"I can't even win at Go Fish," Veemon grinned.

Guilmon sighed as he looked out the window. Finally, he made a decision. "I'll be right back, Terriermon."

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Terriermon demanded.

"I need some air," Guilmon answered.

"But Takato told you not to go anywhere! You could be signing your ticket back to West Shinjuku if you get caught!"

"I'll only be a few minutes. Maybe you can win back what you lost by the time I get back."

Terriermon smirked and adjusted his dealer's hat. "Ok, guys. One more time."

Guilmon climbed out the window. He headed out into the bushes to get a bird's-eye view of college life.

* * *

A couple of weeks had passed and things had gotten way too quiet for The Digimon Empress. But standing atop her usual post on the roof of one of Odaiba's buildings, she knew that it was time for things to get interesting again. Puppetmon had chosen this Digimon himself, even after The Digimon Empress went to all the trouble to search for others herself. But she didn't mind too much. After all, this was a very good choice.

Finally, she got the call on her communicator. It was time to bring him out. So she opened the Digital Field and out came the big man-bull, Minotarumon. He was big and red, muscles covering his body and wild hair over his head that had two long horns. The hair wasn't just there for decoration. It also covered the Black Gear. But the eye-opener was the big blaster on his arm. This was a dangerous Digimon… making him the perfect choice.

The Digimon Empress pointed down. "No failures! Either destroy or don't come back!"

Minotarumon jumped off the building and landed on his feet. With a loud roar, he started storming down the street.

* * *

Before she could even finish her croissant, Kari heard screaming. She peered outside to see that people were running from something. And it didn't take her long to see what it was.

"Do you guys see what I see?"

Rika and Zoë calmly stepped outside and saw what Kari was seeing. It was a huge Digimon and he looked to be very ill-tempered. Zoë gasped in shock, but Rika wasn't fazed at all. She just pointed her Digivice.

"Minotarumon, ultimate-level. As mean as he is ugly, he pounds his opponents with his Bull Fighting Attack and Darkside Quake."

It didn't take long for Rika to reach for a cell phone. Kari had a feeling she knew who she was about to call, however, nobody saw Zoë reach in her pocket, latching on to her Digivice inside…

****Execute … Spirit Evolution … Kazemon!** **

* * *

Renamon just shook her head again. She liked playing with Calumon and all, but she was starting to look bad at this point. It was getting to be pathetic.

"I can't believe it! I've beaten Ice Devimon, I've mashed Musyamon, and I've vanquished Vajramon! I can't believe …"

She slammed down … five playing cards.

"… I can't beat a full house."

Gatomon scooped up all the chips. "And that's all your chips. Looks like I win!"

"Cheater!" Renamon pouted. "There's no way you could have had four aces in that last hand!"

"I'm a lucky kitty. I'm not a BLACK cat, you know."

Impmon turned to Calumon. "I'll bet you that Twinkie and three Ding Dongs that this leads to a fight."

Calumon nodded. "Ok!"

Before this argument could go any further, the phone rang. Everyone stood still. They knew that it wouldn't be a good idea for a Digimon to pick up the phone, but then again… it could have been an emergency. Finally, Renamon decided to just suck it up and answer.

"Yes?"

_"Renamon? Where's Jeri?"_

"Jeri had to step out for a while. She didn't say where she was going. Rika, is something wrong?"

_"Get down here, now! There's a Minotarumon on the loose! I need you here by the coffee shop!"_

"I'll be right down!"

Renamon quickly hung up and headed for the window. But before she could get any further, someone tugged on her arm and stopped her. She groaned when she felt that pair of gloved hands grab her arm. She turned her head to see Gatomon.

"And where do you think YOU'RE going?" Gatomon demanded.

"A Minotarumon is on the loose. Rika needs my help. Let go of me, cat!"

"Ok, let's go!"

"NO! I'm going alone! Rika asked for ME, not you! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to the coffee shop."

Gatomon smirked. "Do you even KNOW where Odaiba's coffee shop is?"

Renamon sweatdropped. "Uh… no…"

"Then you need me to show you where it is. Let's go!"

Renamon sighed, knowing she was defeated. "Fine! Let's go! But you'd better not get in the way! You let ME take care of everything!"

Gatomon rolled her eyes as she jumped out the window first. Renamon was about to follow, but before she did, she turned around.

"You two stay here."

After issuing that little instruction, the yellow fox jumped out the second-story window and landed behind the bushes, managing to keep from being seen. Carefully heading off campus, Renamon and Gatomon headed out into the city.

* * *

Guilmon liked getting this whiff of fresh air. He didn't want to go back into the confining dorm room, but he knew he would have to before Takato came back. But just as he was about to go back, he looked over and saw something behind the bushes in the distance.

It was Renamon and Gatomon. They looked like they were leaving. That made Guilmon more than curious. It was probably an emergency. Needing to know what was going on, the big red lizard stepped out of the bushes. But just as he stepped out, he accidentally bumped into two students. Guilmon gasped when he saw who he ran into.

They were two young ladies in sweaters and a skirt. It was a uniform. Guilmon realized that he ran into two cheerleaders. Much to his surprise, however, the girls didn't scream upon seeing him. Instead, they looked relieved. They took his hand and started leading him away.

"It's about time we found you!"

"Yeah, everybody's waiting for you!"

Guilmon blinked. "Huh? Waiting for me?"

"Yeah, that's right!"

"Let's go! We're already late!"

Guilmon had no idea what to make of any of this. But he just shrugged and decided to go with the flow. He just wondered where he was being taken.

* * *

Minotarumon slammed Käzemon into the dirt, the Legendary Warrior giving out a distressed cry at the same time. Kari watched helplessly as Käzemon struggled to stand to her feet. Rika had the same helpless feeling as Kari did, knowing all too well who the person behind the mask actually was. Zoë was her friend, and she didn't want to see her get beat to a pulp. Minotarumon charged the fairy Digimon. Käzemon got her footing and did a flip on her hands, spinning in a large circle with her feet in the air. "**Tempest Twist**!" Minotarumon was caught up in a huge tornado created by the attack. He flew on top of building, dazed and confused. Jumping across the top of the buildings was a very familiar figure to Kari by now. She gasped and pointed, saying, "Rika, look!"

Coming in at a blinding speed, Renamon leapt into the air and attacked Minotarumon while he was down. "**Diamond Storm**!"

The attack bounced off Minotarumon, and it only succeeded into making the big bull angrier. Snorting his nose, he charged at Renamon, ramming her off the side of the building. Rika, Kari, and Käzemon all screamed in horror. Rika ran to the base, yelling, "Renamon!" In a swift movement, Käzemon flapped her large fairy-like wings, taking to the air. Before Renamon could even touch the ground, the Warrior of Wind caught the fox in midair. They floated harmlessly to the bottom, only to be greeted by a smug Gatomon.

"Nice one, Foxy."

"Oh, shut up!"

Renamon tugged away from Käzemon roughly. "You could've at least thanked her! She saved your neck!" Gatomon said, waving to Käzemon merrily. Renamon groaned, stepping towards Gatomon. "Will you please SHUT UP?" She screamed. Käzemon stepped in between the two Digimon, her hands up to mediate. "Guys, this isn't the time or the place!"

"Look out!" Kari and Rika yelled at the same time.

The three Digimon looked up only to see Minotarumon falling from the sky towards them, feet extended ready to smash them. In a quick movement, they jumped out of the way, Minotarumon smashing up the concrete in their place. Finally, Rika had become fed up. Kari watched as she stepped forward with her Digivice.

"Okay, this guy wants to play? Then, lets play. Renamon!"

Rika took out one of her cards. Kari remembered seeing Takato fight this way, too. Rika swiped the card through her Digivice.

"Digi-Modify! Digivolution activate!"

**DIGIVOLUTION**

****Renamon … Digivolve to … Kyubimon!****

Renamon had Digivolved into a bigger four-legged fox, with a bigger coat and nine tails. She looked ready to face off with Minotarumon, but before she did, she walked up to Gatomon.

"What do you think of me now, kitty?"

Gatomon shrugged. "Eh, I've seen better."

"Is that so? Well, watch and see what I can do!"

Käzemon just shook her head at the two of them as Kyubimon turned and made a beeline for Minotarumon. She leaped into the air again and got ready for another direct attack.

"**Dragon Wheel**!"

Surrounded with blue fire, Kyubimon rushed the big bull, but bounced off harmlessly. Gatomon walked up to the fallen fox and shook her head.

"Is that it?"

"No, that's not it!" Kyubimon growled. "It's not like you could do any better!"

"Maybe I can't, but at least I'm smart enough not to attack him directly. Watch and learn."

Gatomon walked over to one of the coffee shop's tables and pulled off the red tablecloth. She ran over in front of Minotarumon and started waving the tablecloth, matador-style.

"Toro! Toro! Come and get me!"

Being mocked in such a stereotypical fashion was enough to infuriate Minotarumon. He immediately snorted and charged towards Gatomon. Just before contact was made, Gatomon jumped straight into the air and draped the table cloth on the ultimate-level Digimon's head.

Gatomon waved to her partner. "I got him, Kari!"

Unfortunately, Minotarumon wasn't just some dumb bull. He pulled the tablecloth off his head and approached Gatomon while she was still waving at Kari. The bull then gave Gatomon a stiff kick and sent her flying until she landed right by Kyubimon.

"Oh, you really showed me," Kyubimon muttered sarcastically.

"That's not all I have up my sleeve," Gatomon shot back. She looked over at Kari. "Kari, time to Digivolve!"

Kari held her Digivice up. "You got it!"

****Gatomon … Digivolve to … Angewomon!****

Having Digivolved to ultimate-level, the playing field looked to be even. Angewomon took to the sky and flew in front of Minotarumon. There was a standoff.

Käzemon helped Kyubimon back on her feet, for she had not even tried to get back after Minotarumon knocked on her feet. "You guys have got to stop this useless bickering," the Warrior of Wind proclaimed. "This guy is way too powerful for us NOT to work together."Kyubimon grunted as she stood. "Don't tell me." She glanced up at Angewomon, but was greeted by a couple of friends, as well.

"Wow! I NEVER thought I'd EVER get to see YOU!"

Käzemon blushed as Impmon nearly shrieked. It was the nicest she had seen the small Digimon be, and was a pretty decent change in attitude. Big-eared Calumon's eyes were aglow with wonder as they gazed on Käzemon. Kyubimon sighed in aggravation. "What are you two doing here? I told you to stay in the dorm!"

"And miss the excitement?" Impmon smirked. He lit a fireball on his fingertip. "You want me to make a steak out of this cow?"

Rika pointed her Digivice at Angewomon. "Angewomon, ultimate-level. An angel Digimon who conquers evil with her Celestial Arrow and Heaven's Charm." The only thing she was able to say at the time was, "Impressive." Kari smirked and the two girls seemed to be coming to an understanding.

Minotarumon charged Angewomon, who easily floated over the large bull and kicked him in his back. Minotarumon flew into the side of the coffee shop, debris and glass piling over him.

Calumon cheered while Impmon had a unsatisfied look on his face. "Man, we always miss all the fun."

Kyubimon wasn't so sure, though. She stared at the pile that Minotarumon was covered under, when beams of light began shining from every crevice that was unblocked.

Angewomon cautiously floated towards the pile, ready for whatever was coming. Kyubimon and Käzemon stalked closer. And when the shining light stopped just as suddenly as it appeared… **BOOM**!

A large blast blew Angewomon out of the sky, while it knocked Kyubimon, Käzemon, Impmon, and Calumon off to the side. Thankfully, Rika and Kari were protected by an overturned car in front of them.

Rika looked up to see a Digimon that didn't resemble Minotarumon in the slightest. A gargantuan, sneering grizzly bear with glowing green eyes, a big, sharp claw on his left hand, and an even bigger gun on his right hand stood in Minotarumon's place.

"Did…did he Digivolve?" Kari asked meekly as the grizzly roared to the sky. Rika pointed her Digivice to the Digimon. "Callismon, mega-level! Big, wicked, and mean, his Rodeo Bullet attack is definitely nothing to play with."

As if on cue, Callismon raised his gun, "**Rodeo Bullet**!"

He barraged the fallen Kyubimon and Käzemon with his attack. Impmon managed to drag him and Calumon to safety; Kari quickly ran over to them to help out. Rika pulled out a card, angered at this sudden change the battle had taken.

Angewomon swooped down on Callismon and grabbed around his neck, interrupting the attack. Kyubimon was dazed, as Käzemon groggily, barely stood to her feet. She was engulfed in Data, and then,

****Slide Evolution … Zephyrmon!****

In the place of Käzemon stood Zephyrmon, the Beast Spirit of the Warrior of Wind. Wide, brown wings place on her back, she was standing ready for action. Callismon was unfazed as he snarled some saliva at her. Zephyrmon chuckled before taking to the sky.

Another flick, Rika pointed her Digivice at the newcomer. "Zephyrmon, a Hybrid-level Digimon. The Beast Spirit for the Warrior of Wind, she controls the air around her with her Hurricane Gale attack."

Zephyrmon tore through the sky towards Callismon, red orbs appearing in her palms. "**Plasma Pods**!"

They zoomed into the grizzly, who fell to his back. Impmon and Calumon were like Zephyrmon's own cheerleader team, jumping up and down in excitement. Angewomon watched in awe at the quickness and speed that Zephyrmon possessed. It was like Zoë wasn't even present, but the actual Warrior of Wind had actually took over.

Callismon was laying on his back when Zephyrmon swooped to the ground in front of him. She stared down, waiting for the creature to make a move. When he smashed the ground next to him with his fist, she wasn't prepared. "**Deep Forest**!"

The ground began to shake, causing Zephyrmon to lose her balance. She took back to the skies, Angewomon on her side. Callismon stood up, laughing throatily.

"This guy is just not going down," Angewomon said.

"Mega-levels normally don't," Zephyrmon gravely said.

They stopped and noticed Callismon stalking towards Kyubimon, who had just been watching the events unfold. "Come here, foxy," Callismon growled. This caught Kyubimon's attention, seeing as how she hated how ANYONE called her foxy.

"Don't EVER call me FOXY!"

Rika knew what to do. "Digi-Modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!"

**MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION**

****Kyubimon … Digivolve to … Taomon!****

Callismon was awestruck when he saw the four-legged Kyubimon Digivolve into the human-shaped Taomon. Angewomon and Zephyrmon were just as surprised. Taomon stood still and silent, glaring into Callismon's green orbs. Kari couldn't help but feel good about this. After initially getting off to a rocky start with her roommate, here she was fighting by her side. And so were their Digimon, even after ill feelings they had towards each other.

Callismon soon found himself surrounded by Taomon, Zephyrmon, and Angewomon, all stalking closer towards him. So he focused on a nearby building.

"**Deep Forest**!"

The building shook and started falling apart as Callismon shook it with his razor claws. The grizzly caught the pieces of debris and started tossing them at the three Digimon. Angewomon managed to dodge each shot and still aim her bow.

"**Celestial Arrow**!"

Angewomon shot her Celestial Arrow and hit Callismon between the eyes. The bear was blinded and staggering around.

"Kari, now's our chance! Let's get him back to the Digital World!"

Kari ran out into the street knowing what she had to do. She needed to find another Internet café to open a Digi-Port. But she didn't see one anywhere. Of course… she wouldn't have the chance, either.

Because Rika had other ideas. "Taomon, finish him off!"

Taomon aimed a giant paintbrush. "**Talisman of Light**!"

Taomon shot a giant symbol of light at Callismon. After a direct hit, Callismon was deleted. Kari could only gasp in horror. She couldn't believe what she just saw.

Rika was taking it all indifferently. "Good job, Taomon. He won't be bothering us anymore."To Kari's surprise, Zephyrmon wasn't worried about it anymore than Rika was. She floated to the ground, a sigh of relief coming from her.

Kari stood frozen for a moment. Words escaped her. Finally, after everything sank in, she stormed towards Rika. She firmly grabbed her shoulder and turned her around.

"Y-Y-You… KILLED him!"

"Yeah. What's your point?" Rika asked with a stone-cold look.

"You didn't have to do that!"

"Excuse me? Maybe you didn't notice, but he was demolishing the city!"

"We could have sent him back!" Kari cried angrily. "You didn't have to kill him!"

"I don't think he was about to go quietly!" Rika shot back. "There was no time to send him back! He was a MEGA-LEVEL Digimon on a rampage and putting innocent people in danger! This is a fight, Kari! And if innocent people are in danger, then there have to be sacrifices!"

"You're wrong!" Kari spat. "There's always time to do things the right way! I could have found a computer! I could have opened a Digi-Port!"

"And by the time that happened, half of Odaiba would be in shambles! Where's your head at? He clearly made a choice and had to face the consequences of his decision! How could you even THINK about putting people in danger just to protect one bad Digimon? What's the matter with you?"

"How DARE you turn this around on me! You're the one who just killed a Digimon without any remorse! Don't you even care that a Digimon's death is on your head?"

"NO! And you want to know why? Because if I hadn't acted, then there would likely would have been deaths of others that would be on my head … and YOURS! I'll let you think about that, Kari! Come on, Taomon! Let's go!"

Rika was about to walk off, but Taomon was a little busy. She was in the midst of an intense staredown with Angewomon. Both Digimon glared holes into one another.

"You never DID have any compassion," Angewomon muttered.

"I do what I must," Taomon shot back. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Maybe I do!"

Angewomon and Taomon started moving towards each other. Before they could get in each other's faces, Zephyrmon stepped in.

"We don't need to be fighting each other! We fought as a team!" Angewomon turned towards the Legendary Warrior. "And you're no better! You're supposed to stand for peace and justice and all that other stuff! You just let her go ahead and kill that Digimon!" Zephyrmon wasn't sure how to take it. Yeah, it was cold-blooded for Rika and Taomon to obliterate Callismon, but he had gone beyond help. It wouldn't have done them any good to just send him back to Digital World. But, the Warrior of Wind wasn't able to find any real words, so she just sighed sadly, floating away into the sky out of sight.

"Taomon!" Rika snapped. "Let's go! I'm not about to convince them, they'll just have to learn that this is how things need to be done."

Taomon turned around and started walking away, but not before looking back at Angewomon. "I'm still stronger."

Rika and Taomon walked away. Calumon looked back and forth and looked torn. But, after a brief hesitation, he followed Rika and Taomon. Impmon casually followed along, but stopped just as he passed Angewomon.

He scoffed. "Angels."

Impmon casually followed his friends out and Kari found herself alone with Angewomon.

Kari hung her head down. "Are we really wrong on this one?"

"No!" Angewomon answered without hesitation. "We did the right thing in taking the nonviolent approach. If anything, it's THEM who have a lot to learn."

Having said that, Angewomon reverted back to her champion level. Kari and Gatomon walked away down the street as the sun was starting to set. It had been a long day.

* * *

Guilmon was feeling out of place. He wasn't ever supposed to leave his dorm room. Yet here he was… inside Odaiba University's gymnasium, surrounded by a dozen or so cheerleaders. And he didn't even know what he was doing there.

After what felt like an eternity, another one of the cheerleaders came in, dragging in an adult by the arm.

"We found him, Coach! Here's the new mascot for the Odaiba Dragons!"

Guilmon looked around. He was eager to see who the new mascot was. But his curiosity would have to wait, because the cheerleader and coach were walking up to him.

The coach pinched one of Guilmon's cheeks. "This one? He's kinda short, isn't he?"

"But look at how much trouble he went to," the cheerleader pointed out. "He went as far as to make his own costume. And it looks so real!"

That's when Guilmon realized that they were talking about him. The coach examined Guilmon and nodded.

"There's just one more test," he said. "Hold still, guy."

The coach reached into a nearby box and took out a white Odaiba Dragons sweater. He put it on Guilmon. It was little oversized, but it looked to be a good fit nonetheless.

"Perfect! You've got the look! Congratulations … uh … what's your name?"

Guilmon hesitated. "My name? Uh… I guess you can call me Guil …"

"Yes! Congratulations, Gil! You're the new official mascot of the Odaiba Dragons!"

Guilmon blinked. "I am?"

The coach chuckled. "I know, it's an honor. But we'll be looking forward to seeing you for the season opener. You'll be here before then, right?"

For lack of anything better to say, Guilmon just nodded. "When's that?"

"This Friday. Good to have you aboard, Gil!"

The coach shook Guilmon's hand. Guilmon didn't know exactly how to take this. But oddly enough… he felt happy about being the school's new mascot.

This was the kind of college life he could live with.


	14. Games, Pt 1

After the disaster with Minotarumon, Puppetmon was in a less than playful mood. It marked another failure, and there was nothing he hated more than being made to look like a joke. Minotarumon had somehow Digivolved to the Mega-level, a feat that neither Puppetmon, Datamon, or the Digimon Empress were able to figure out. The moods of Datamon and The Digimon Empress seemed to reflect those of Puppetmon. They didn't look very happy either.

"I'm beginning to become VERY irritated," Datamon muttered to no one in particular. "Its clear that someone is working against us, but as to who, I am at a loss." Puppetmon frowned and made an unfriendly grunt. The Digimon Empress voiced her opinion in a more vocal manner. She whipped her whip on the ground in anger. "YOU THINK?" She snapped at Datamon.

She paced back and forth angrily. "NOTHING'S going right! And the season opener is tonight at the university!"

"Is that right?" Puppetmon smirked. "I bet we could have a lot of fun if we get one of our guys in there!"

Datamon examined the line of Digimon under the influence of Black Gears. "Yes, but I see no worthy Digimon here. And how do we know that whoever is making our Digimon Digivolve won't make them… Digivolve? I'm not willing to chance that."

"Did I hear someone say 'worthy Digimon'?" someone else called out.

The three villains looked around to see who spoke up. It didn't take long for someone to come out. Puppetmon immediately sensed something familiar about this one. His body was a star and he walked on two legs. It looked like Starmon, but there was something different about him. His star body was gold and he wore fancy shades… and there was a Black Gear on his back.

"Who are you to speak out of turn?" Datamon demanded.

"The name's SuperStarmon," the Digimon announced. "And I am the solution to all your problems."

The Digimon Empress scoffed. "You? Listen-"

"Yes, yes, I know you're impressed. My star power has you in awe. But, I'm sorry, little lady. I don't do autographs."

The Digimon Empress blinked. "Huh? I didn't ask for-"

"I know you're disappointed," SuperStarmon interrupted. "But frankly, a star of my caliber doesn't have time to associate himself with meager tasks like autographs or mingling with my adoring public."

The Digimon Empress looked like she didn't know what to make of this at all. For that matter, Puppetmon didn't even know what to make of it. He got up and approached this egomaniac.

"Look here, buddy, we need somebody to take out the DigiDestined, these new brats called Tamers, AND the fake Legendary Warriors. Do you HONESTLY think you have what it takes?"

"Of course I do! For I am… SuperStarmon, the biggest superstar the Digital World has ever seen! No pictures and please hold your applause."

"I don't like your tone!" Puppetmon growled. "**Puppet Pummel**!"

Puppetmon decided to do away with this nuisance immediately. SuperStarmon was knocked back and slid into the wall. To everyone's shock and amazement, the big star just calmly got to his feet.

"Remarkable!" Datamon exclaimed. "Lesser Digimon have been annihilated by Puppetmon's tantrums."

"I may be a mere Ultimate-level Digimon," SuperStarmon explained. "But, my defense is topnotch. It'll take a lot more than a squeaky hammer to knock this star off his pedestal."

"Squeaky hammer?" Puppetmon shouted. "I'll show YOU!"

Before Puppetmon could pound this egomaniac into oblivion, The Digimon Empress stepped in between the two. Puppetmon got the urge to smash her, too, but let cooler heads prevail. She may have just been a human, but she was still an important part of the mission. After all, no one else had access to the university other than her.

"Maybe you can take it, but can you dish it out?" The Digimon Empress asked SuperStarmon.

"Why, of course I can! My Halley Squall and Galactic Eyes attacks can put an end to anyone's fifteen minutes of fame!"

"Then maybe you'll do, after all."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Puppetmon protested. "Him?" Puppetmon was about to make his feelings known, but Datamon dragged him off to the corner by his wooden ear.

"You can't be serious about sending him! His ego is bigger than my old playhouse!"

"I agree that he has a big ego, but I can see what our little Digimon Empress has up her sleeve. After what she told me about the Callismon fiasco, it appears that the Tamers won't hesitate to kill if necessary. So she's probably thinking that either the kiddies get destroyed OR they destroy SuperStarmon and get him off our backs. Either way, it's a victory for us."

"Well, what if he manages to Digivolve?" Puppetmon shot back.

Datamon was genuinely surprised at Puppetmon's attempts to keep SuperStarmon in the Digital World, and the robotic Digimon knew that his fellow villain was itching to get into some action. It wasn't long before Puppetmon would lose his cool and go on a COMPLETE tantrum. "That is something to look out for… Either, or, do you not remember the Tortomon that was stopped by Angemon and Guardromon? HE didn't Digivolve, even though we still lost that battle."

"Datamon, I don't like him!"

"Well… IF he Digivolves I give you full permission to take it out on him THEN!"

Puppetmon's eyes lit up at this statement. "Really?" Datamon waved off Puppetmon in a blasé manner before walking back over to the Digimon Empress and SuperStarmon. "Yes, yes. But, hopefully you won't have to do that. With any luck, they'll all destroy each other," he said in whisper.

The two were now back in the company of the other two, Puppetmon brandishing a large, mischievous smile on his face. "We're in agreement," Datamon said. "You're our 'mon'. So you'd better-"

"Now, just hold on there," SuperStarmon interrupted. "A star of MY caliber can't just be hired like some two-bit actor. You have to meet some of my demands first."

"DEMANDS?" Puppetmon repeated, the smile on his face fading quickly. "We're the top bad guys here! We're the ones who make demands!"

SuperStarmon just ignored Puppetmon. "As I was saying, I'll have to issue some standard demands. First, I'll need a bowl of peanuts in my trailer; roasted AND salted! I also want seedless watermelons! I'll need a private bathroom AND a private dressing room…"

"But you don't even wear clothes!" Datamon snapped.

SuperStarmon just kept going. "And finally, I'll need a starting salary of 100,000 Digi-Dollars!"

Puppetmon's eyes widened. "100,000 Digi-Dollars? You five-cornered hack! That's the last straw!"

Puppetmon reached over for his hammer again, feeling in a foul mood once more. But, Datamon quickly stopped him while The Digimon Empress giggled nervously.

Datamon glared at him sternly. "REMEMBER OUR AGREEMENT!" he seethed in Puppetmon's ear.

The Digimon Empress eased the now tense SuperStarmon, "Don't mind him! He got up on the wrong side of the woodshed this morning. We'll give you whatever you want AFTER you disrupt the season opener and crush our enemies."

"Thank you," SuperStarmon grinned. "I'm glad we got that settled before bringing my agent into this. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be in my trailer."

With that, SuperStarmon walked off… leaving the three villains in a perplexed state of mind.

"We … don't HAVE a trailer," The Digimon Empress pointed out.

"We have an outhouse," Puppetmon suggested. "You think he's using that?"

"Stars can be so irascible," Datamon quipped. "They make it to the big time and they suddenly get a big head."

The Digimon Empress just held her head. "I… should go back to the university and get ready to receive from out there… before I get a headache. Call me when it's time to bring in our star."

As odd as this whole exchange was, there was one bottom line. SuperStarmon would soon be ready to crash Odaiba University's season opener and… HOPEFULLY wipe out the combined forces of the Tamers, DigiDestined, and the Legendary Warriors.

Of course, Puppetmon wondered if this whole ordeal would give SuperStarmon an even BIGGER ego once it was all over.

* * *

Takato looked in front of the mirror, trying on his new red Odaiba University sweater. He had to admit that he looked pretty good in the colors of the school and so did Henry. And they would sport those colors at tonight's season opener.

"You guys will be ok in here for the night, right?" Henry asked Terriermon and Guilmon.

However, Terriermon didn't look too happy about that. Guilmon was just looking out the window. Takato looked at him and almost detected a bead of sweat.

"Come on, Henry!" Terriermon protested. "I'm small enough to not get noticed! Let me come with you. I haven't seen a soccer game in a long time."

"I don't know, Terriermon," Henry persisted. "I'd look pretty weird carrying a stuffed animal to a soccer game."

"Ok, then I have another idea!"

Not willing to give up or take no for an answer, Terriermon walked over to Henry's closet and pulled out his cooler. He opened the large cooler and jumped inside. Henry was in disbelief and just looked at Takato.

"Uh … you got to admit, he's creative," Takato chimed in.

"What do you think?" Terriermon asked.

Henry still wasn't sure. "I don't know. You're not really willing to leave Guilmon here by himself, are you?"

Terriermon smirked. "Oh, I have a feeling Guilmon will be just fine. Isn't that right, big guy?"

Guilmon, who had been looking out the window, suddenly turned around. "Uh … um … yeah! Fine! Don't worry about me."

"Are you sure, boy?" Takato asked with a hint of uncertainty.

"Yeah. You three just go to the game. I'll be ok."

"See? He'll be just fine!" Terriermon grinned. Then he got in the cooler and put the lid in over his head. Of course, just because he was inside the cooler didn't mean he couldn't keep his mouth going. "Maybe you'll find a cute cheerleader, Henry. Remember, you're-"

"I know," Henry groaned. "Shinjuku High's Most Eligible Bachelor."

Takato just chuckled as he remembered Henry's senior superlative. As Henry picked up his cooler, Takato walked over to walk out the door. But…

****THUD****

"OW!"

Once again, Takato's door flew open and smashed him on the nose. As he rubbed his nose, he heard that familiar voice. It could only be one person.

"Hey, Henry, you guys heading out to the game? Uh… where's Takato?"

"Where do you THINK I am, Davis?" Takato growled.

Davis peered from the other side of the door and sweatdropped as soon as he saw Takato. Takato wasn't too happy, obviously.

'_We really should think about locking our door_,' Henry thought. Then he noticed something. "Hey, Ken. You taking Wormmon?"

Takato looked over and saw that Ken indeed did have Wormmon on his shoulder. It looked like he was coming along for the ride.

"I wouldn't think of going anywhere without him," Ken replied. "Even if it means drawing some unwanted attention."

"If you don't want to risk him being seen, then stuff him in my cooler," Henry offered. "That's where Terriermon's staying."

"This cooler's stuffed to capacity," Terriermon quickly cut in.

"It is not," Henry shot back. "Come on, Ken. There's plenty of room for Wormmon."

"Well … it WOULD take away some of that unwanted attention," Ken noted. "What do you think, Wormmon?"

"I don't have a problem with it," Wormmon said. "I'll go in."

Ken took Wormmon off his shoulder and placed him inside Henry's cooler right beside Terriermon, much to the long-eared Digimon's chagrin.

"Great. There goes my leg room."

With everything set to go, Takato followed everyone out and headed out to the field, where the Odaiba Dragons were about to have their season opener. A Friday night didn't get better than this.

* * *

"Why can't we come with you?" Koji heard that question for probably the hundredth time today. He groaned at Tigrismon as he put his blue coat over his white Odaiba University shirt.

"Because you guys attract WAY too much attention every time you leave this room!"

This was a rare time that Koji was not in the books studying. But, with Takuya able to get a spot on the soccer team, he had to go out and support his friend. Koichi was extremely excited that he was able to get his brother away from the books for a night.

And little Tigrismon would do more than anything to come along with the two of them. "Zenithmon and Azumon don't even wanna go," he tried to convince the Warrior of Light to let him go to the game, but Koji wasn't letting up. He grabbed his D-Tector instinctively, along with his keys, and walked into the main living room; Tigrismon nagging the entire way. Koichi walks out of his room, Turtwigmon doing the same thing to him. The twins look at each other and then the two Digimon. Koichi shrugs sheepishly before saying, "They're persistent." Koji is standing by his reasons, though. "Every time you leave this room, trouble happens. I don't have the time or the patience to deal with that right now."

Tigrismon whined again. "I promise I won't this time, Koji! I'm tired of being locked up in here all the time. All I do is chase my tail and munch on my foot!" A knock at the door interrupted the argument they were having. Koichi walked over and opened it, revealing a familiar a well-missed face. It was Tommy. Zenithmon, who was sitting on the couch watching a nature program, hopped up in excitement as he spotted his friend. "Tommy!"

This caught Tigrismon and Turtwigmon off guard and were just as surprised to see their friend walk through the door. The three Sovereign Digimon tackled Tommy to the floor, overtaken by joy. Koichi closed the door as Tommy stood up, all three in his hands now. "What's up, college guys!" Koji was more surprised than anybody; Tommy hadn't told him that he was going to come this weekend, but he wasn't complaining. "When did you get here?" Now Tigrismon had perched himself on Tommy's right shoulder, with Turtwigmon on his left, and Zenithmon being held in arms. "About an hour ago. My phone died on the way up here so I couldn't call," he explained.

Koichi patted Tommy on the back, in spite of all the Digimon perching themselves on him. "Hey, don't worry about it. It's good to see you again, bud." Koji rolled his eyes than glanced at Tigrismon and the others. "Just because Tommy's here doesn't mean you guys can come to the game." Tigrismon and Turtwigmon groaned in unison, whilst Zenithmon simply jumped out of Tommy's hands. "Thankfully, I didn't wanna go, anyway," the small firebird Digimon said snootily. The other two Sovereign Digimon weren't pleased by the statement Koji had made. "Why are you being so mean Koji?" Turtwigmon whined.

Tigrismon yelled, making Tommy flinch. "Yeah, you're not the only one who wants to see Takuya play! Stop being so stingy!" In spite of the dysfunctional situation, Tommy was entirely too happy to be back with his friends. Kids his age had always thought of him as awkward and weird because he didn't hang out with anybody his own age. He had always thought of himself as awkward, though. Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"Where's Azumon?" he asked, a curious question that had just struck him.

"In Takuya's room sleeping," Koichi answered. Then he looked at the time. The game was getting ready to start. "We better get going if we wanna get any good seats." Turtwigmon and Tigrismon looked at Koji with pleading eyes. "Pleeeease?" Koji formed a reluctant frown, something that had become a trademark for him. Still being perched on his shoulder, Tommy began walking out the door with the two Digimon. "They'll be cool, Koji. Lighten up," sixteen-year-old Tommy said before walking in the hallway. That caught Koji off guard. Takuya always tells him to 'lighten up'. And Tommy had said it in the same manner. '_Too much influence on that kid_,' Koji blandly thought before following Tommy out the door. Before walking out, Koichi made sure that Zenithmon was okay. The Digimon was calmly back to watching television. And Azumon was sound asleep in Takuya's room. He closed the door behind him and locked it.

Then he, Koji, and Tommy were met by Kazu and Kenta in the hallway.

"Hey, guys!"

"What's up!" A confused glance at Tommy made Koichi give the introductions. "Oh, yeah. Kazu, Kenta, this is Tommy, a friend of ours from home."

Tigrismon smiled broadly. "Yeah, he's the Legendary Warrior of Ice!" Koji grabbed on his tail roughly, causing the small Digimon to yelp and slink in the crook of Tommy's neck. "I told you to be quiet!"

"Sorry," Tigrismon whispered with his eyes closed. They began to walk down the hallway leisurely. "I take it you guys are these DigiDestined with human partners Takuya told me about?" Tommy asked Kazu and Kenta, who were more than happy to meet another Legendary Warrior. "Nah, we're Tamers," Kenta said proudly before opening up his pocket. MarineAngemon poked his head out, an excited look in his eyes. Turtwigmon waved at the pink Digimon with the leaf on top of his head.

"He's really excited about seeing the game," Kenta said, making Kazu roll his eyes.

"That's your partner?" Tommy asked.

"Yup, best one there is!" Now, Kazu HAD to say something. "Be serious! HOW can you possibly know that he's excited about the game? And my partner is ten times better."

"He is not!" Kenta shot back. "MarineAngemon is a Digimon of few words, but he IS very wise."

Tommy glanced at the Digimon, who stared brightly at him before retreating back into Kenta's pocket. "I can tell," Tommy said with an amused laugh. "Where's your partner?" he asked Kazu. "Ah, he's too big to carry around in my pocket. I have a Guardromon as a Digimon partner," Kazu explained, which got the result he wanted from Tommy, who said, "Cool!"

Koji thought the whole idea of Digimon and human partners was rather ridiculous. He had always been able to Digivolve and the fact that humans had Digimon fight their battles for them didn't sit too well with him. However, to each his own, he always said. The Digimon don't seem to have a problem with it. "Gee, I wish we had Digimon partners," Tommy said to himself. That got a rise out of the two Digimon that were riding on his shoulder. "What are we chopped liver?" Tigrismon whispered in Tommy's ear, making sure that Koji didn't hear him. "You're not my partners. You're my friends," Tommy simply stated.

"Our Digimon are our friends, too," Kenta began, but was cut off by Kazu, who made a shocked gasp. Nobody in particular noticed, until Kazu had stopped walking completely. They had reach the end of the hallway and were about to walk down the steps to the lobby. Kazu's eyes had fell on a guy their age that was completely unrecognizable to the Legendary Warriors. All but Koji. He had felt something familiar about the guy that Kazu had noticed. And when Kenta saw the boy, he did the same faint, surprised gasp.

Koichi was a bit confused. "Uh, guys? You okay?" "RYO!" Kazu and Kenta yelled before dashing the surprised guy's way.

* * *

For the past five days, Jeri was living in a nightmare.

All three of her roommates were now feuding with each other since their battle with Callismon. And after it looked like they were starting to get along, Renamon and Gatomon were once again at each other's throats (though they managed to keep from laying a hand on each other). Jeri felt like something was bound to blow up at any moment, despite her best efforts to keep the mood calm. Poor Calumon must have felt the same way, because he was trying to play peacekeeper between Renamon and Gatomon. Impmon, however, just sat back and watched the whole thing, since … well … it _was_ Impmon.

And things weren't getting any better. Jeri wanted to go enjoy the season opener, but she was having a hard time getting all of them to agree to go along with her. Zoë had been keeping to herself the past few days, not talking to neither Kari nor Rika.

Jeri was the one that no one had any ill feelings towards. After three days of pleading, however, it finally looked like she had succeeded in convincing all of them to go out as roommates.

Jeri was already by the door. "Come on, guys! We don't want to be late!"

"Don't rush me!" Rika snapped. "I'm almost ready. I just need my sweater."

Calumon ran over to Jeri, looking worried. "Please don't leave me alone with these two, Jeri! What if they start fighting?"

Calumon was obviously worried that things between Renamon and Gatomon would explode. It was a valid concern. The two Digimon were on opposite ends of the couch, staring almost hatefully at each other; Impmon was in the middle, idly flipping channels with a Twinkie in his hand.

"Calumon, everything will be just fine," Jeri said assuredly. "I have a good feeling that you can keep them from fighting. You might even have them getting along by the end of the night."

Calumon looked up with his big innocent eyes. "You think so?"

"Of course I do," Jeri replied. She leaned in close to whisper in his big ear. "If we should be worried about anyone, it's these three. Let's hope I can help them to get along."

Kari walked over to the door, putting a smile on her face.

"Well … I guess this night could be pretty fun. Especially if we find our friends at the game."

"We can look for them as soon as we're ready to go. Rika, Zoë, hurry up!"

Zoë came, flipping her blond hair, wearing an Odaiba lettermen jacket. Kari turned her head and acted as if she didn't even see the blonde-haired girl. This didn't faze the Warrior of Wind in the least as she walked right past Kari and smiled at Jeri. Jeri awkwardly said, "Your jacket's cute."

"Thanks!" Zoë said happily.

Rika put a red OU sweatshirt over her head and walked towards the three of them. "Ok, I'm-"

She stopped in her tracks … as soon as she saw that Kari was wearing the exact same sweater.

"Nice sweater," Kari grinned.

A vein nearly popped out of Rika's head. "Take that sweater off NOW!"

"But … it's cold out there," Kari muttered. "Besides, I like it. What's wrong with me wearing it?"

"If we're wearing the same sweater, people might get the impression that we're twins or something."

Zoë chortled, trying to hold in a snicker. Rika glared at her, but her attention was soon turned to some baffling. She turned her head to see that Impmon was laughing madly, nearly choking on his Twinkie.

"Those would have to be some pretty blind humans to think you two was twins!"

Impmon's laughter was quickly stopped by a pillow that was tossed at his head.

"Who asked you?" Rika growled. Then she turned back to Kari. "Fine! If that's the way it's gonna be, then I'LL take MY sweater off!"

Jeri sweatdropped as Rika removed her sweater. Now she was in her usual one heart T-shirt along with her jeans and tennis shoes. Jeri wanted to say something, but as long as she had them going to the game with her, that was all that mattered. She was ready to head out. Unfortunately … that's when her cell phone began to vibrate.

Jeri blinked as she looked at the number. "Uh … I have to go."

"What?" Rika, Zoë, and Kari all snapped at once.

"There's something I have to do," Jeri said nervously.

"Well, that tears it," Rika said angrily. "If you aren't even going, then there's no point in this. There's no way I'm going to the game alone with THEM!"

"That's just fine with me," Kari shot back. "I wouldn't want to go to the game with a wannabe Xena anyway!"

"PLEASE don't start fighting!" Jeri pleaded.

Zoë closed her eyes in anger, the front door suddenly swinging open from a strong gust of wind. She briskly walked out and into the hallway, the door closing behind her.

"Who does she think SHE is?" Rika angrily replied. Then, she took another look at Kari. "I'm going to that game," she continued. "But, I'm going ALONE!"

Having said that, Rika stormed out after Zoë. Kari just stared a hole right into her as she walked out. Then she also walked out.

"I'm going alone, too!"

Jeri sighed deeply. She had hoped that she could help her roommates get along, but that whole plan had blown up in her face. And it was all because of her pager.

"I hope this is worth it," she muttered to herself.

* * *

Takuya can't remember the last time he was this nervous. He had played in more than a thousand soccer games, and he had always done well in those. He was the captain of the soccer team his senior year at Shibuya High School.

But, this was college, a complete different level of playing for him. And being the fact that he was freshman, the upperclassmen were definitely not about to make it easy for him.

The Warrior of Fire was able to actually walk on to the Odaiba Dragons soccer team, the only freshman to do so. The people who were already established on the team felt as if Takuya was going to have to earn his keep.

Now, in the locker room, Takuya washed water over his face for the fifth time. Sweat began forming on his forehead, and he was unable to shake the nervous feeling that has been plaguing him ever since he entered the locker room. He tried to look at himself in the mirror, but his head was pushed back into the filled fountain. He sputtered and splashed as his face was pushed under water. The hand that was keeping his face there finally let him bring his head up. Takuya wasn't surprised to see Puck, a junior that had began tormenting Takuya ever since they met during Takuya's tryout.

"Smooth move, freshman," Puck said with a snort before walking away. Takuya glared after him, deciding it best not to say anything to him. He wiped his face and walked to a bench in the locker room. Everybody else seemed to be so at ease about the upcoming game, and Takuya was beginning to feel out of place. He just hoped that he's able to prove himself on the field tonight when game time rolled around.

His thoughts of the upcoming game were popped when Takuya looked at the locker room's entrance to see a VERY familiar face. But, it was one that he DEFINIETLY wasn't expecting to see. "GUIL-" Takuya began, but stopped when Guilmon turned his head and saw the goggle-head. His eyes became those of immediate worry and fear.

Seeing Guilmon looking idly around the locker room was the last thing Takuya was expecting to see, so he ran over to the large, lizard Digimon in a hurry. "What are you doing here?" Takuya whispered, not sure why he had done so.

Guilmon made a surprised yelp, but when seeing Takuya he did a sheepish grin. "Takuya!"

The red lizard looked just as nervous as Takuya, but the goggle head was unsure as to why. "Does Takato know you're here?"

Guilmon shook his head, becoming very livid about the subject at hand. "No, no, no! He doesn't and if he wouldn't like it if he found out… so… could you… kinda keep this a secret?"

Takuya eyed the Digimon curiously. "What exactly am I keeping a secret?"

That's when Guilmon perked up a little bit more. He walked over to a locker in the corner, opening and pulling out an Odaiba Dragons sweater. He put it over his head and smiled. "Im the new mascot!"

All Takuya could do was sweatdrop.

* * *

The stadium on the other side of campus was packed. Davis nearly got lost, but managed to stick together with Ken, Takato, and Henry. But being freshmen, they didn't even know where the front gate was.

"So where's TK?" Takato asked.

"Trying to find Catherine," Ken answered. "I think he wants to go to the game with her."

Davis suddenly realized something. "Uh … Ken? Didn't Tai say HE wanted to take Catherine to the game?"

Ken gulped. "For everybody's sake… let's hope not."

"GUYS!"

"WAIT UP!"

Everyone turned around to see Kazu and Kenta running towards them. And they looked rather happy about something. They ran up to the guys and panted heavily. It was as if they had been running all over the place.

"We looked for you guys everywhere!" Kazu exclaimed.

"Well, we're right here," Takato replied. "So what's up?"

"You'll never guess who we just found!" Kenta grinned. He turned around, whistled, and waved. "Hey, guys! Over here!"

Koji, Koichi, and two others were coming through the crowd of spectators towards them. Davis had never seen two of them before. One, who looked to be a bit younger than them, had Tigrismon and Turtwigmon on his shoulders, earning him the usual awkward stares from others. The other guy was their age with a red sweater and black jeans with hair of brown that was combed back, yet standing up. Davis didn't know who he was, but it was obvious that everybody else did.

"RYO!" Takato and Henry shouted.

Ryo exchanged high-fives with Takato and Henry. "It's been a long time, guys! I told you I'd be back someday." Then he froze as soon as he spotted Ken. "Ken Ichijouji?"

Ken was in shock. "Ryo Akiyama?"

Both of them stepped forward and looked at each other in disbelief. After a brief few seconds, both smiled and gave each other a hug.

"You two… _know_ each other?" Takato asked.

Ryo nodded. "Ken and I go way back! Back before I even met you guys."

"I haven't seen you in so many years," Ken said. "What have you been up to?"

"Just moved back to West Shinjuku after living in Hong Kong for a year," Ryo answered. "I got here too late to enroll anywhere, so I'm taking a year off. But I heard that my old friends here all enrolled at Odaiba University, so I decided that the best time to come for a visit was during the season opener! As soon as I got here, it didn't take long to run into these guys. Who would've thought I would run into the Legendary Warriors AND you?"

Ken smiled. "It's good to see you again, old friend."

"I bet he won't be the only one glad to see you," Kazu smirked.

"Wait 'til Rika finds out you're here," Kenta added. "Can you picture the look on her face?"

"I… think I can," Henry said nervously.

"Oh … she'll be surprised alright," Takato added with a tone of uncertainty.

Davis had finally had enough of being left out. "Hey! Has anybody forgotten about me?"

Everyone finally turned to Davis and realized that he was completely left in the dark. He hadn't even been properly introduced.

"Sorry about that, Davis," Ken chuckled. "I want you to meet my old friend, Ryo Akiyama. Ryo, this is one of my best friends, Davis Motomiya."

Davis eagerly accepted the handshake. "You've probably heard of me! I wouldn't be surprised if you have!"

"Actually, I haven't," Ryo replied.

Davis frowned. "Then you've obviously been talking to the wrong people. What do Hong Kongians know anyway?"

Tommy laughed, and when Henry saw Turtwigmon and Tigrismon on his shoulders, an idea quickly came to his mind. "I take it those two aren't stuffed?" Henry asked him jokingly, but Tommy didn't seem to understand it. The sixteen-year-old just smiled sheepishly, Koji glaring at him the entire time. "I told you we shouldn't of brought them," the Warrior of Light complained. Henry quickly intervened, however.

He moved to the side, trying to get out of people's way and eyesight. Signaling Tommy to come over to him, he opened the cooler in a hurry. Inside, Terriermon and Wormmon looked up, eyes big and bright. Henry put a finger to his mouth, telling them to still keep silent. "You can put them in here if you want. Its less attention that way," he suggested to Tommy, who thought the idea was rather creative.

"Nice idea." He said before looking at Tigrismon and Turtwigmon. "You guys okay with that?"

Tigrismon answered by jumping into the cooler. Unfortunately, he landed right on Terriermon. "Hey, watch it!" the long-eared Digimon snapped before pushing Tigrismon off of him. The lion Digimon just giggled giddily. "Sorry." Tommy ended up gently placing Turtwigmon in the cooler, making it a total of four Digimon in the medium-sized cooler. Needless to say, things were becoming… kinda cramped.

"Hey, guys!" Koichi waved to the two of them. "Come on!"

Before Terriermon could protest about the capacity of the cooler, Henry quickly closed the lid. Tommy grabbed the other side and Henry grabbed on to the opposite side. In a joint effort they lifted the cooler up and made their way back over to their friends. "Now we don't look so dumb carrying 'stuffed animals.' Name's Henry," He introduced himself.

"I'm Tommy."

"Oh, so you're the other Legendary Warrior they told us about," Henry concluded, making the Warrior of Ice blush somewhat.

"Yeah, that's me… I guess."

Before they could get better acquainted, the crowd started moving faster. Everyone started to make their way inside and the guys decided to join in. But, as Davis was struggling to follow-

"Davis!"

Davis turned around and found Kari with Yolei. He waved them over and they walked through the crowd.

"Big turnout, huh?" Yolei commented.

"I hope there's enough space for all of us," Davis thought. "Koji and Koichi brought a friend from back home, and an old friend of the Tamers' showed up. It's kinda funny, since he and Ken seem to know each other, too."

"Really?" Yolei asked curiously. "Who is it?"

"Some guy named Ryo. Can you believe he's never heard of me?"

Kari gasped. "Did you say 'Ryo'?"

"Don't tell me you've heard of him, too!" Davis cried. "The guy's a bigger celebrity than I am!"

"I haven't met him, but Rika has," Kari answered.

"I think I heard Kazu and Kenta saying something about that," Davis said. "So they know each other, too?"

Kari nodded. "Uh … you might say that. Let's just say that if they run into each other, there'll be more fireworks there than on the field. Let's find a place to sit."

Kari dragged Davis and Yolei by the hand and started catching up with everybody else. The game was about to begin.

* * *

Marcus never knew how he ended up in these types of situations.

Here he was, on a Friday night, at Odaiba University's season opener with his cousin and her goofy friends. After he started going back to school the beginning of the week, he's found himself spending a lot more time over at his Aunt Diane's house, now that his grandfather was back from wherever he was. He STILL wasn't telling them exactly WHERE he had been the past year, and Marcus could tell that it was started to irk his mother and aunt.

Naomi and Marcus had decided to work together to figure out exactly where their Granpa Homer had gone and came from, and see if it had any relation with the disspearance of Spencer Damon and Jeremiah Avalon.

However, they were only teenagers, and Naomi being the social butterfly that she was, didn't have time to investigate their grandfather every that her Mom was a professor at the University, she always had easy access to all the games. But, Marcus wouldn't have tagged along with them if he knew it was going to be THIS packed and that he was going to be the only boy.

He was walking in a tight knot with Naomi and her two friends, Ashleigh and Serena.

"Great, now we won't be able to find a seat," Naomi complained.

"Well, if you guys hadn't spent so long getting dressed, we would've been able to FIND a seat!" Marcus retorted.

Naomi made a quick glare at him. "Don't try and make it seem like this OUR fault! No one asked you to come!"

"Nobody said I wanted to be here!"

Serena rolled her eyes, while Ashleigh said, "Will guys PLEASE shut up? You've been arguing nonstop since we got here!"

Being that he had been over Naomi's house a lot more often, their parents were seeing it as a sense of change coming about. So, naturally they practically MADE Naomi take Marcus along with her to the season opener. Of course, Aunt Diane was at the game, as well. But she was sitting with the faculty members watching the game.

The two cousins were just didn't mix well together.

Naomi sucked her teeth as they found themselves at the bottom of the bleachers. It seemed like they were lost in a sea of college students that were loud, excited, and ready for the game to start. Ashleigh smiled flirtatiously at a college sophomore, who had a beer and an Odaiba University hat on. Before anything could escalate further, Serena grabbed Ashleigh roughly away from the sophomore and the group walked over towards the bathrooms.

Marcus followed idly; Naomi laughing at her friends' antics. He REALLY did not like being around them. "I can't believe you were gonna talk to him!" Serena reprimanded Ashleigh, who sucked her teeth in disappointment.

Naomi turned to see Marcus sulking behind and rolled her eyes at him. That's when her phone began to vibrate in her pocket. She it took it out and when she saw who it was, a complete look of regret washed over her face.

"Guys… I gotta go," she said to her friends. Marcus had unfortunately heard her, too.

"WHAT?" the three of them cried aloud in unison.

"Sorry! I shouldn't be long," she said, but her friends gave her cross look and quickly eyed Marcus, signaling that they weren't too keen on being left with her outcast of a cousin. "I will definitely be back BEFORE the end of the game," she continued.

"You better!" Serena snapped. Naomi gave a sheepish smile before dashing away.

But, Marcus and grabbed her arm before she departed. "You CANNOT leave me alone with those two!" he pleaded.

Naomi groaned in aggravation, "I'm coming back, you dolt! Let go of me!" she snatched her arm away from him.

"Where exactly are you going?" Marcus questioned her.

"Don't worry about it! Just… Ugh, I'll be back," she simply said before walking away. Marcus looked at his cousin as she got lsot in the crowd of college students. He turned back around and saw Ashleigh and Serena frowning at him.

This was NOT his idea of Friday night.

* * *

TK adjusted his hair once more before knocking on the door. And it didn't take long for a surprised Catherine to answer.

"TK! I wasn't expecting you here. It's good to see you. I was just heading over to the game."

"I got the idea that you would," TK replied. "I was hoping you'd wanna come to the game with me?"

Catherine thought about that. "Well…"

But she didn't get very far when someone else stuck their nose in. "Hey, Catherine!"

TK snarled as Tai once again stuck his nose where it didn't belong.

"Tai, I wasn't expecting you here, either."

"I wanted to surprise you. I was thinking we could go to the game together and take a ride on my hog after."

Catherine thought about that, too. "Well…"

"Oh, you think you're such a big shot with your motorcycle!" TK growled. "You _really _think that it makes you the better man?"

"I don't think it makes me the better man," Tai shot back.

"I think it makes me the cooler man, the hotter man, the faster man…"

"A motorcycle doesn't necessarily make you the faster man," TK pointed out.

"It makes me faster than you!"

"Oh, really? What makes you say that?"

"I've seen your Toyota, TK and, quite frankly, a bicycle could outrun it."

"You want to put your money where your mouth is? Your motorcycle against my Toyota in a race! Winner gets fifty bucks and gets to take Catherine out after the game."

That got Catherine's attention. "Um … gentlemen… ?"

Tai scoffed. "TK, I know you're jealous of my motorcycle and all, but PLEASE don't do this to yourself. You're just setting yourself up for a huge embarrassment."

"And what makes you say that?"

"Think about it! My awesome motorcycle against your busted Toyota? That's like racing a cheetah and a snail."

"Then you won't have a problem accepting … unless you're afraid."

"TK, the only thing I'm afraid of is embarrassing you. But if you refuse to take 'no' for an answer, then you're on."

"Great! We'll race over by the alley, five blocks from campus."

"Ok, then, meet you there!"

Catherine tried to interject herself. "Uh … boys… ?"

But it was too late. TK and Tai were storming off in opposite directions. There was more than just a date and $50 on the line. There was also pride. TK had to stand up for the honor of his car and himself.

* * *

Finally, Davis managed to find his friends and find a seat. Of course, it didn't last long. Ever the polite one, Davis gave his seat to Kari and was willing to stand up. Having the others sit while he stood up was beginning to draw some attention and it looked like the first one to recognize that was Kari.

"Davis… why don't we do this instead?"

Kari stood up and sat Davis in her seat. Then she sat on his lap and put her arms around him. Davis could definitely live with this. This was the sort of moment he always dreamed of.

From the other side of the bleacher, Yolei looked like she was getting the same idea. But when she stood up to walk over to Ken's lap… she saw that someone else had quickly beat her to it.

"Hi, Ken!"

Ken was totally caught by surprise when Rosa suddenly appeared on his lap. No one was more surprised, or more annoyed, than Yolei.

"Uh … hi, Rosa," Ken said sheepishly. "When did you get here?"

"You're forgetting that my Mom's a professor," Rosa giggled.

"I'm supposed to go meet her somewhere later, but I just couldn't come to the game without saying hello. I wish I could stay, Ken, but I really should go." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "But, I WILL see you later."

Rosa left and Ken started to blush a bright red. That was the last thing Yolei wanted to see, so she took Ken's Pepsi and splashed it over his head.

"This should cool you off!" She growled.

Ken sighed and turned his head to Ryo. "Have you ever had these kind of girl problems before?"

"None that I can think of," Ryo grinned. "It's not too many girls that can withstand the Akiyama charm."

"Oh… I beg to differ," Terriermon said from inside the cooler. "Speaking of girls, don't you have one you should be looking for right about now?"

"He's right," Ryo agreed. "I'll be right back, guys. I should be back by halftime."

Davis watched as Ryo left. The game was already underway and it was still scoreless.

Davis watched as the team was huddled on the sidelines. Takuya was sitting on the bench, looking more downtrodden than ever. He could only smile somewhat comically at his fellow goggle head. The cheerleaders came onto the sidelines and tried to get the crowd into the game. And right behind them was the mascot. A mascot whom Davis found rather familiar.

"Hey, that's a nice costume the mascot's got on," Davis said. "It almost looks like Guilmon."

That got Takato's attention away from his hot dog. "Huh?"

Takato looked on the field and saw that behind the cheerleaders was Guilmon wearing a white Odaiba Dragons sweater. Not a single one of them knew what to make of it, especially the cheerleaders not panicking one bit.

Henry opened up the cooler. "Terriermon? You know anything about this?"

"Did I forget to mention that little detail?" Terriermon grinned. "Guilmon's the new Odaiba Dragons' mascot."

"You've got to admit, he's blending in pretty well," Koichi said.

"I don't even think any of them have any idea what he really is," Kazu added.

"Guess that's ONE good reason Takuya's on the team," Koji cracked with a slight chuckle.

The cheerleaders were going through their routines as they usually did. They were including Guilmon in as if he were one of their own. The cheerleaders even went ahead and did the usual pyramid routine, Guilmon in the middle of the bottom row.

"He's got a lot of school spirit," Henry noted.

Takato groaned. "Henry, what part of 'stay in the room' do you think Guilmon doesn't understand?"

"You can always ask him whenever the game's over," Kenta suggested. "That is, if he's not busy afterwards."

"What do you mean?" Takato asked curiously.

"Mascots can be pretty popular," Tommy answered. "Especially at my school, the mascot's dating one of the prettiest girls in our class! You might see Guilmon taking one of those cheerleaders out to eat after the game."

"Ok, now that's just being silly," Takato scoffed.

While it sounded silly, everyone looked out on the sidelines to see a cheerleader innocently 'dropping' her pompom right in front of Guilmon. The red lizard just picked it up and handed it back to her. She rewarded his efforts with a kiss on the cheek.

Takato sweatdropped. "Oh, yeah. He and I are gonna have to talk."

* * *

Zoë stood next to JP in the concession stand line, looking at how packed and crowded the stadium was getting. This being her first college season opener, Zoë really didn't know what to expect. And when Jeri said that she wasn't going to the game, she had called JP, who of course NEVER minded in dropping what he had going on for the Warrior of Wind.

"Ugh, this line is TOO long!" Zoë complained as she looked to the front of the line, which seemed to be endless.

JP glanced back at her before turning his head back to the front. Zoë knew that getting JP away from this line was going to be challenge, one she was not up to right now. "I'm gonna go stand over there and wait for you."

A genuine look of concern washed over JP's face, who didn't feel comfortable in letting Zoë wander off alone.

"Are you sure?" he asked, until he spotted someone walk behind Zoë.

Zoë noticed a turned and saw Rika, who immediately noticed her. The two of them glared somewhat at the each other for a second, JP stalling and waiting to see the sparks fly. However, the glares didn't last long, when both of them realized that they were being completely ridiculous.

"Man, I'm sorry about earlier," Rika said, surprising herself and Zoë.

"I don't even know why we were even mad at each other," replied the Warrior of Wind.

Then Rika's frowned returned. "Because of Miss Perfect thinking-"

"Yeah, I was just being sarcastic. I know."

Rika scoffed at the mere mention of Kari. "But, tell me… is she NOT being dumb about this whole thing?"

"I HAVE to admit that she did overreact a little," Zoë agreed. The two girls turned towards JP when someone had clumsily bumped into him, not watching where he was going.

"Oh, sorry-" the guy started saying to JP, but when his eyes fell on Rika, he smiled probably the most amazing smile that Zoë had ever seen. The guy was tall, fit, and had brown hair combed back but somehow stood was less than pleased to see him, though.

"Rika!" the guy said excitedly, even though the feeling was clearly not reciprocated. "Did you miss me?"

Rika developed an angry twitch right away. More than anything, she wanted to snap. She wanted to go right at him with her cold, intense exterior like she would for anybody else. But something was holding her back. Perhaps it was just the fact of seeing him so unexpectedly. She could only find herself giving him a cold stare.

"What are you doing here?"

"Is that any way to greet an old friend?" Ryo smiled. "I know you missed me, Rika," he said, walking towards her attempting to embrace her in a hug.

"Maybe I did," Rika scowled as she held up a hand to his chest to stop him. "But, do you have any idea WHY I missed you? You just left, Ryo! You never called, you never told me, you never bothered to say goodbye! You just moved off to Hong Kong without saying _anything_!"

A sense of realization hit Zoë and the name Ryo struck her. THIS was the guy that Rika was hung up about. And looking as to why… seemed kinda obvious. She thought Ryo was GORGEOUS.

"What's the big deal?" Ryo asked naïvely. "We both knew I wouldn't be there forever, right?"

"That's not the point! You don't get it, do you?"

Ryo just tilted his head, unaware of what Rika was insinuating. "Get what?"

Rika couldn't take this. For all his so-called perfections, Ryo was letting the most obvious fact fly completely over his head. This was why just looking at his perfect hair, perfect teeth, and perfect body was enough to get her seething. For all the hoopla about being such a legend and such an amazing guy, he couldn't grasp the COMPLETE obvious. That's what drove Rika to turn, grab some random guy's soda and pour it over Ryo's head. After drenching his perfect hair, Rika turned and stormed off.

"Idiot!"

She didn't even want to look at him. Of course, that didn't mean Ryo wasn't trying to get through the crowd to follow her.

"Rika, wait!"

Rika stormed off in the crowd, with Ryo struggling to catch up… leaving an ABSOLUTELY perplexed Zoë and JP still standing in line.

* * *

This should have been a nice night to get out and forget all about her work. Of course, Talley Onodera had a job to do. Ever since she had reported her suspicions to Yamaki, she was given one strict instruction and that was to keep Izzy Izumi under surveillance. Although there were perks. She did get to see the season opener on the side with the rest of the OU faculty by the sidelines.

"Is he still there?" Riley asked.

"He hasn't gone anywhere," Talley answered. "Still sitting up in the bleachers with the rest of his friends. And he's got that Digimon in his lap."

"Hard to believe everybody can fall for that 'stuffed animal' charade," Riley thought. "Isn't that right, sir? Sir?"

Yamaki wasn't paying attention. Talley looked over and saw what he was seeing. One of the faculty members was leaving. Yamaki had a look that Talley and Riley had grown accustomed to seeing. It was a look of total suspicion.

Yamaki walked over to the departing faculty member. "Leaving so soon?"

The female professor was caught off guard. "Yes, I suddenly remembered a prior engagement."

"You look like you're in a hurry," Yamaki persisted.

"I really am. I just got a pretty urgent phone call. I really need to go."

"Oh, alright then. I'll let you tend to your business … er … I'm sorry. What was your name again?"

"Dr. Marquez."

"That's right. I thought you looked familiar."

"Yes, now please excuse me. I need to go!"

Dr. Marquez pushed past Yamaki and ran off, quickly losing herself from sight amongst the crowd that was rushing off to the restrooms. Talley and Riley slowly approached Yamaki while he turned to another faculty member.

"Can't believe she's rushing off so soon," Yamaki told him.

"Oh, she's always running off like that," the other professor said. "She's hardly ever around, especially lately."

"Is that right?" Yamaki muttered under his breath.

Yamaki walked over to his two partners and walked them aside.

"I don't like it," Yamaki said. "I've had my eye on her…"

"Is that right?" Riley interrupted with a hint of jealousy.

"That's right," Yamaki said with his no-nonsense tone. "I believe we may have our next suspect."

"But, she's already gone," Riley pointed out. "She left through the crowd."

"We haven't lost ALL our suspects," Talley cut in. "Izzy Izumi's still in his seat."

"And Yoshino has been keeping tabs on Professor Norstein. Keep your eye on Izzy, Talley," Yamaki instructed. "Don't let him out of your sight. Riley, come with me. We're going to try and catch up to Dr. Marquez."

Before Riley could even say anything, she was being dragged off by the arm. Talley suddenly found herself alone. Keeping surveillance on one Izzy Izumi suddenly became a one-woman task. But she was more than up to it.

She had a gut feeling that there was more to Izzy than met the eye.

* * *

It was nearly halftime and the timing wouldn't be better. The best time to strike would be when nobody was expecting anything to happen. The Digimon Empress knew that. And apparently, nobody was expecting anything to happen. She peered past the back of the parking lot and got a good look at the university's stadium. OU Public Safety was nowhere to be seen. The time to bring him out was now.

The Digimon Empress sent the signal and Datamon was more than eager to open the Digital Field. And once the Digital Field opened, SuperStarmon nonchalantly walked out. The Digimon Empress tried to give the instructions, but trying to tell a big-headed star what to do proved to be a futile task.

"Ok, it's almost halftime. I want you to-"

"Can you hear my audience calling me? My adoring fans! Excuse me, young lady. I wouldn't want to deprive them of a show."

SuperStarmon didn't even wait for any further instructions, but just brushed everything off and kept on walking. The Digimon Empress slapped her forehead and reached for her communicator.

"He doesn't listen!" she snarled into her communicator.

"_Just leave him be,"_ Datamon instructed from the other end. _"He'll either get the job done or meet his Waterloo. You just maintain surveillance from a safe distance and report whatever you see. There's still much to learn from the Tamers' fighting techniques."_

Having received that order, The Digimon Empress decided to go find a safe place to watch the fireworks. The season opener was about to take a very interesting twist and it would be something Odaiba University would remember for a long time to come.

* * *

The game was scoreless as halftime was approaching. While Izzy was never the athletic type, he did enjoy watching these games with his friends. And his friends were all enjoying the season opener. So was Tentomon, who was on his lap and just wouldn't stay in the apartment or the Digital World. Everyone had their eye on the game, except for Mimi who just kept looking around.

Joe was the first to question it. "Mimi, what are you looking for?"

"I can't help but think people are staring," Mimi huffed. "Izzy, did you have to bring HIM along?"

Izzy looked down at Tentomon. Carrying around a 'stuffed animal' undoubtedly had him sticking out like a sore thumb.

"He wanted to see the game," Izzy answered. "What else can I say?"

"At least Joe was able to keep Gomamon in our room," Mimi shot back. "Couldn't you do the same for Tentomon? I'm sure the others could have used the company."

"He wants to see what the game is like," Izzy said dryly. "I just can't leave him behind, Mimi."

Sora was also looking around. "Wasn't Tai supposed to meet us here?"

For the answer to that, everyone looked to their left at Matt.

"What's everyone looking at me for?" Matt asked calmly.

"You're his roommate," Joe pointed out. "Isn't Tai coming?"

"He said he wanted to try and bring that French girl Yolei's rooming with. But, knowing him right now, he's probably trying to give her a ride on his bike."

"I hope not," Sora moaned. "I'm worried about Tai getting hurt on that stupid thing!"

"I know Tai can get a little crazy, but let's not worry too much," Izzy said. "We've all matured since the days of our youth and that includes Tai."

"Tai thinks he's matured TOO much," Joe pointed out. "He still feels like he's too old."

"You think he's gonna be ok?" Mimi asked.

Izzy nodded positively. "If not, then may something horrible happen right now."

Usually, a statement like that wouldn't backfire on Izzy. That sort of thing usually happened to Davis or Joe. Unfortunately, as soon as the whistle blew for halftime … that's when something happened.

"My human public! Behold! The star has arrived!"

Everyone looked around to see where that voice was coming from, including the DigiDestined. Nobody could see where the call came from until Mimi pointed into the sky.

"Up there!"

Izzy and the rest looked up to see that there was something on top of one of the light posts. They could barely make out what it was, but whatever it was, it wasn't friendly.

The figure continued. "If this is halftime, then it's time to give you humans a halftime show you'll never forget! **Halley Squall**!"

Bright lights came falling from the sky. They came closer and was revealed to be red comets. They landed on the field, one right in the middle, others falling closer to the parking lot. By then, the crowd figured that this wasn't part of the halftime festivities and started scattering. The DigiDestined, of course, stuck around to see just what was causing this chaos.

They didn't have to wait long, because the figure leapt down from the lights and landed by the crash site. It was a Digimon.

"Is that Starmon?" Sora asked.

"No! That's SuperStarmon! Don't let his name fool you, though. His Halley Squall and Galactic Eyes attacks are anything BUT super!" Tentomon informed, giving them the usual scoop of whatever Digimon the DigiDestined came across.

"Great, just what we need!" Matt groaned.

Izzy kept his eye on the Starmon look-alike. This was another threat, but unlike the others, it had actually struck the campus. He had to be stopped.

* * *

The crowd was scattering at this point. But the group of DigiDestined, Legendary Warriors, and Tamers weren't moving. Davis was the first one to stand up, after lifting Kari off his knee, of course. He didn't want to go through this now. He didn't want to see that a Digimon had actually struck in HIS school.

"It looks like Starmon," Yolei thought. "But, he looks golden and … what's up with those shades?"

"Where's my adoring public going?" the star shouted from the field. "Nobody leaves during MY show!"

Takato pointed his Digivice towards the field. "SuperStarmon, ultimate-level. The only thing bigger than his Halley Squall attack is his ego."

"Nobody crashes MY school's season opener!" Davis said nobly.

"Give it a few seconds," Henry said softly. "When everyone clears out, we can take him on."

Davis waited patiently. The Digimon were clear across campus. In fact, the only ones present were in the cooler.

It would be up to Terriermon and Wormmon. Hopefully, they would be up for the fight.

Before they could wait for anything, though, Koji quickly dashed off, out of sight.

* * *

TK could only imagine that the season opener was already underway. And here he was, five blocks away around an abandoned parking lot. But he was more than willing to miss the first half to prove he was better than Tai. Though, Tai did make one good point. Perhaps TK had bitten off more than he could chew when he challenged Tai to a race.

But there WAS one other ace in the hole for TK. Maybe he DID drive a busted Toyota, but there was one adjustment he had made to it. It was something he had worked on ever since Tai bought that motorcycle. And hopefully, it would even the playing field.

When TK arrived, he didn't make any of his anxieties visible. He arrived with a cocky smirk as he looked out the window. Quite a crowd was forming, obviously the street racing fans. That's when it started to sink into TK just what he was getting himself into. He had gotten himself into a STREET RACE!

It all went out the window, however, when he saw Tai revving up his motorcycle. TK remembered why he was there. He was going to show Catherine who the faster man was.

He could only hope that he wouldn't get himself killed in the process.


	15. Games, Pt 2

TK slowly pulled into the alley and pulled side-by-side with Tai's motorcycle before turning off the ignition. He stepped out of the car and walked over to Tai, who was casually revving his engine. Tai calmly removed his helmet, getting his hair to spring up, and gave him a cocky stare.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Tai smirked. "Do you _really_ want to embarrass yourself?"

TK returned the smirk. "You won't be smiling when you see what I've got up my sleeve. Just get ready to race."

With a crowd quickly forming, TK walked over to his Toyota with a confident walk. On paper, this looked like a total mismatch. How could a busted Toyota stand a chance against a Honda Rebel motorcycle? But that's where TK's ace in the hole came into play.

The difference would be in TK's trunk… which contained a boost of NOS, otherwise known as nitro. It would give his car a much-needed boost and would likely be the difference between victory and utter humiliation. But he couldn't help but be a little wary.

"I hope I know what I'm doing."

* * *

Everyone was running and the DigiDestined, Legendary Warriors, and Tamers soon found themselves ready to take the field. Davis was more than willing to lead the way, but without Veemon, he could only do so much. But that didn't mean there weren't any Digimon present.

Reading Davis's mind, Henry reached for the cooler and opened it up. Terriermon eagerly jumped out, feeling anxious for a battle.

"I'm ready this time, Henry! Send me in!"

Henry took out his Digivice. "Then get in there!"

Terriermon rushed down the bleachers and jumped the fence to get on the field while Henry reached into his pocket for one of his cards. He took one of his cards and slashed it through his Digivice.

"Digi-Modify! Digivolution activate!"

**DIGIVOLUTION**

****Terriermon … Digivolve to … Gargomon!****

Davis hadn't seen a Gargomon since he met his friend, Willis, in Colorado. But, there was a Gargomon, ready for a fight. The only thing that did to SuperStarmon was just annoy him.

"I don't like your attitude!" SuperStarmon bellowed. "You're planning to upstage me, aren't you? Well, nobody upstages the STAR!"

Gargomon just shook his head. "Nobody likes temperamental stars. **Gargo Laser**!"

Gargomon released a number of turrets from the barrel on his hand, but each shot only bounced off SuperStarmon's shiny exterior. The attack only had the charismatic star yawning. As a counterattack, SuperStarmon grabbed a piece of the comet that fell on the field and tossed it at Gargomon, sending him flying into the soccer net. The net fell down and Gargomon found himself stuck.

SuperStarmon raised his hands. "_!_"

"This doesn't look too good, does it?" Davis noted.

"I think SuperStarmon's leading in points," Yolei replied.

The next moment, from the very top bleacher, came a blinding light. Everyone on the field looked up to see a shining figure, one that Koichi and Tommy knew all too well. SuperStarmon was undeniably caught off guard as he looked up at the figure in annoyance. "Another two-bit comedian thinking he can upstage the star? You should leave the real laughs to the professionals!"

The figure jumped down to the field, and now everyone could see just exactly who it was. It was a large bipedal wolf-man, clad in blue armor. The way he looked reminded Davis of Garurumon, but he had a sinking feeling that he knew who this newcomer was.

"Too bad I'm not real big on jokes," the wolf-man answered SuperStarmon, who scowled behind his black glasses.

Koichi and Tommy exclaimed excitedly, "Lobomon!"

Henry pointed his Digivice at the wolf-man, gaining some new knowledge on their teammate. "Lobomon, a Hybrid-level Digimon. The Legendary Warrior of Light uses blinding attacks that makes eyesight useless to his enemies. Glad he's on our side!"

Kazu and Kenta were a little more than ecstatic. "A REAL LEGENDARY WARRIOR?"

Serious as ever, Lobomon dashed towards SuperStarmon, ready for a fight. SuperStarmon clenched his fists and held his ground. A light saber came erupting from Lobomon's arm, "**Lobo Kendo**!" But, before the attack could land, SuperStarmon threw a rough punch directly in Lobomon's face, surprising the Warrior of Light a great deal. Lobomon stumbled back, but shook the cobwebs off quickly.

After regaining his composure, Lobomon jumped high in the air and came straight down at SuperStarmon, prepping for a kick. When it seemed like the kick was going to connect dead on top of SuperStarmon's head, the egomaniac looked up and held his hands outwards. Lobomon's foot landed in SuperStarmon's outstretched hand. This surprised the Warrior of Light, but he quickly recovered as he brought down another swift attack. "**Lobo Kendo**!"

This attack connected with SuperStarmon, sending the star twirling and to the ground. Lobomon knew that that wasn't the end of this fight, however. He stood his ground and waited… SuperStarmon got back up, apparent anger all over his face. "So… you think that you can just come in here, do a couple of light tricks, and all of a sudden YOU'RE the leading man? How 'bout NOT! **Galactic Eyes**!"

He lifted up his sunglasses, and two beams of light came shooting at Lobomon, sending the warrior flying.

At that moment, Gargomon had just made his way out of the soccer net. Unfortunately, Lobomon sent him right back into it as the two Digimon crashed against the soccer net, yet again.

"We need another player on the field," Ken suggested. He pulled Wormmon out of the cooler and sent him down the bleachers before raising his Digivice. "Let's do it, Wormmon!"

****Wormmon … Digivolve to … Stingmon!****

Stingmon was ready to join in, but everyone had a hunch it wouldn't be enough. SuperStarmon didn't look like he'd give up without a fight.

"Takato, go find Guilmon!" Davis cried. "We're going to need him on this one!"

Takato looked around. "I don't see him! He was just here!"

"He might have gotten dragged off with the cheerleaders!" Kari thought. "They were heading for the locker room!"

Takato hurried off to search for Guilmon. Growlmon could really help turn the tide, because SuperStarmon looked to have the advantage, despite the numbers being against him.

Stingmon flew down to the field and attacked. "**Spiking Strike**!"

Even at close range, Stingmon's attack barely left a dent. All that did was get SuperStarmon even more ornery. He fought back by lifting up his shades.

"**Galactic Eyes**!"

An intense eye beam sent Stingmon down. After taking the champion bug down, SuperStarmon turned and slowly started stalking the other children. Stingmon tried to get up and apparently made a discovery.

"A Black Gear!"

Stingmon tried to cut SuperStarmon off, but the star just turned around to intercept him. That's when everyone saw the Black Gear in his back. If there was one more Digimon around, the Black Gear could be destroyed. But, Gargomon and Lobomon were stuck in the soccer net and Guilmon was still missing.

"HEY! Don't just huddle up together!"

Everyone looked at the other side of the bleachers. It was Matt and the older DigiDestined.

"Don't create one target! Scatter!"

That was the only instruction everyone needed to hear. Everyone started scattering across the field. But things weren't getting any better. SuperStarmon was winning the battle with Stingmon. Davis peered over towards the locker room.

They needed Takato and Guilmon.

* * *

Everyone had scattered, but Talley wasn't about to go anywhere, even in the midst of a Digimon attack. She had a job to do. With the Digimon attack coming so suddenly in the middle of the game, she knew it had to be the work of the mole who brought it in. And she had a feeling that she was looking straight at the mole, who was walking onto the field with that other Digimon.

It had to be Izzy Izumi.

Talley walked onto the field and decided to take the mole down now. But what she didn't see coming, was that SuperStarmon had jumped onto her path, apparently having tossed the bug out of his way.

"There's nothing a star hates more than an uncooperative audience!"

SuperStarmon looked like he was about to attack. That's when Izzy suddenly turned around.

"Professor Onodera!"

Izzy let the Digimon out of his arms and he came right towards them.

****Tentomon … Digivolve to … Kabuterimon!****

The Digimon known as Kabuterimon tackled SuperStarmon and knocked him away from Talley. SuperStarmon got right back on his feet and began to fight back.

Izzy rushed over to Talley's side. "What are you still doing here? You have to run!"

Talley curiously looked over at the fight ensuing. "You're helping FIGHT that thing?"

Izzy struggled to find an answer. "Uh … well … yeah … you might say that."

"And here I thought you were working for the other side," Talley blurted out.

That seemed to have caught Izzy by surprise. "What?"

Talley had a feeling her cover may have been blown. For a government agent, she should have been able to come up with a fabricated story at the snap of a finger. But she couldn't just lie to this guy. He had saved her life.

"We need to talk."

* * *

Rika didn't even go back to her dorm. She actually walked away from the school and decided to take a walk. What she didn't know, but should have expected, was that there was someone else walking behind her.

"Rika, wait!"

"Go away!"

She didn't want to see Ryo, but he just wouldn't leave. He kept following slowly behind her. She didn't want to turn around, but after almost an hour of this, she finally stopped and turned around.

"This could be considered stalking, you know!"

"I want to know what's upsetting you! Why do you keep running away from me? Did I do something wrong?"

Rika was astounded. "You really DON'T get it, do you? I can't believe you! I always thought you had more brainpower than Kazu and Kenta put together, but you don't have a clue, do you?"

Ryo looked legitimately stupefied. "Can you please tell me what I did?"

There was no use in trying to jog his memory. Rika tried the best she could, but it was all for naught. There was nothing more she could do, except give him a harsh reminder.

"A year ago, you moved away to Hong Kong. As if it wasn't bad enough that you left right before our senior year, you actually had the gall to leave without saying goodbye to me! Do you have any idea how it made me feel to have to hear it from Takato and Henry? Were you planning to send me a postcard or something?"

Ryo blinked. "I… didn't think you'd be mad about it. Rika, I didn't think it was a big deal. We all knew it wouldn't last forever. In fact, it's been only a year and I'm already back. It wasn't like when I was stuck in the Digital World. This only lasted one year."

"That's not the point," Rika groaned. "You don't do that, Ryo! If you're leaving, you say goodbye. That's how it works!"

Ryo hesitated. "I… guess it hit you harder than I thought. I really didn't think it would, Rika." Then he smirked. "You must have really missed me, huh?"

That was enough to bring Rika back to her usual self. There was nothing that brought out the best (or worst) in Rika Nonaka than the ever-confident Ryo Akiyama.

"Yeah, right," Rika scoffed. "Me? Miss you? Please!"

"Then why are you making such a big deal out of this?" Ryo grinned.

"It's the principle!" Rika said calmly. "Frankly, I could care less if you were still gone. If anything, it got people paying more attention to me. Not that I ever doubted who was better, but for some reason, people think you're some kind of-"

"Legend?"

"Yes, legend," Rika snarled through gritted teeth. "You know, that's another thing. You always thought you were so good!"

"I beat you, didn't I?"

"You just got lucky!"

"That's not what Kazu and Kenta said."

"Kazu and Kenta have the combined IQ of a Twinkie! What do they know?"

"Doesn't matter what they know; it matters what they saw. And they saw me beat you."

Rika had no retort to that. Ryo had gotten the best of her again. And he obviously knew it, because he had that confident smile on his face. Rika nearly cracked a smile.

"Ok, I guess I'll admit that maybe … just maybe … I missed you … JUST a little bit."

"A little bit?"

"That's all you get out of me! Don't push it, Mr. Legend!"

Ryo innocently put his hands up. "Ok, I'll take what I can get."

There was something about Ryo Akiyama that Rika found aggravating and charming at the same time. It was his seeming belief that he could do no wrong. Even if he had blatantly done something fallible, he always remained so positive about it. It was irritating… yet captivating.

"So you want to go back to the game?" Ryo suggested.

Rika shrugged. "Let's just walk around. It looks like a slow game anyway."

* * *

Marcus ran as fast as he could out of the stadium, with Ashleigh and Serena dead in front of him. The entire crowd was running for dear life to the parking lot as five large monsters fought each other. It was so unreal, unlike anything Marcus had ever seen. However, he didn't have time to ponder the entire ordeal, due to large meteorites come pummeling to the ground in the parking lot. "**Halley Squall**!"

Another slew of red meteors came crashing down, destroying everything in sight. The two girls that Marcus had with him screamed in terror, covering their faces as Marcus led them off to the side, away from the destructive meteors.

He looked all through the crowd, but didn't find anyone that looked remotely close to his cousin. Despite their differences and their constant bickering, deep down Marcus really did have a deep affection for Naomi, and he would do almost anything to keep her safe. ALMOST anything.

"Marcus!"

He turned and saw his Aunt Diane pushing her way through the crowd, an even more worried look on her face than the two girls with Marcus had. But, he knew the way she would react once she found out that Naomi wasn't with them. It was something else that caught Marcus's eye, though. It was the person his Aunt Diane had trailing along after her. Professor Norstein.

The two of them reached the three teens, Ashleigh and Serena nearly on the verge of tears. Diane put a hand on her nephew's shoulder, glad to see that they were all safe. "Are you all alright? Nobody was hurt were they?" She asked as she scanned Serena's face. Marcus watched Thomas look around at all the chaos that was happening. He was so serious and he practically looked calculating, as if evaluating the entire situation with his eyes. His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by his Aunt.

"Marcus! Where's Naomi?" She shrieked, grabbing Marcus's shoulder. Marcus stammered for his words, not sure what to say. Anything he said could either backfire to where his Aunt would blame he for Naomi's absence, or it could possibly get Naomi, herself, in trouble for leaving during the game.

He did a quick glance at Naomi's two friends. Serena just sobbed in terror as another meteorite fell from the sky. It was like the sky was falling. Thankfully, Ashleigh quickly interjected. "She got separated from us when everyone started scattering," Ashleigh said, not looking at Marcus even once. This didn't mean that Aunt Diane wasn't going to overreact, however. She reacted EXACTLY the way Marcus expected her to.

"WHAT? So she's still IN there?" Aunt Diane shrieked. She looked back at the stadium, where the monsters were now in a full-blown battle. Her hands shook a little, until she turned back to the three teenagers. "I want you three to go with Professor Norstein to safety," she instructed.

"What are you about to do?" Ashleigh asked, a worried looking coming over her face. She'd hate it if something happen to Mrs. Avalon based upon a lie she told. Naomi didn't get separated she deliberately LEFT the game.

"I'm about to go get my baby! I won't leave without her!" Marcus grabbed his Aunt desperately, who was a little surprised at the touch. "Aunt Diane, what do YOU think you can do in there? Those things are gonna fight until that entire stadium is in pieces!"

"Marcus, I don't care! I have to go get Naomi!"

He didn't want his Aunt to get hurt, or worse. So he took a deep breath, preparing to tell the truth as to what REALLY happened. "I'll go look for her," Thomas interrupted.

This caught everyone off guard, none more so than Marcus. What could a kid professor possibly do that his Aunt couldn't? His Aunt looked at Norstein in shock. "Oh, Thomas… I couldn't possibly ask you to do such a thing in-"

Thomas quickly cut her off, "You're not asking, I'm volunteering. I'll go find Naomi and bring her back safely. I promise you, Diane."

After a couple of second of looking into Thomas's eyes, Aunt Diane finally shook her head 'yes.'

"But, BE CAREFUL." Thomas smiled a confident smile before gently putting her hand in his. "You have my word," he said before dashing back to towards the stadium. Diane looked at the young boy, a newfound respect for him. Then, realizing where she was and who she was with, sprung back into action. "Okay, kids, let's get to somewhere safe!"

* * *

What was a soccer game less than an hour ago has now exploded into an all-out Digimon battle. And SuperStarmon was outnumbered. The DigiDestined, Legendary Warriors, and Tamers were at different corners of the field and the Digimon surrounded the Ultimate-level egomaniac. Stingmon and Lobomon stood face-face-face with SuperStarmon while Gargomon was trying to sneak up from behind, obviously hoping to take out the Black Gear on the star's , it was like SuperStarmon had eyes in the back of his head. He saw Gargomon coming and quickly turned around."**Galactic Eyes**!"

An eye beam sent Gargomon to the ground. Lobomon tried to take advantage of the distraction and rush him, but SuperStarmon just caught the Warrior of Light and tossed him aside like a sack of potatoes.

Stingmon took this chance as an opening, flying towards the star. But, SuperStarmon stopped the Champion-level bug with a firm punch to the gut.

Izzy knew this wasn't going well and he knew it would have been a good time to jump in, but he was dealing with something else at the moment. He was dealing with his professor.

"Just who ARE you, anyway?" Professor Onodera demanded. "How did you get a Digimon? Are you a Tamer?"

"No, I'm a DigiDestined," Izzy answered. Then his eyes widened. "Wait! How do YOU know about the Tamers?"

"Izzy, if you haven't noticed, we have a small problem over there," Kabuterimon cut in.

Izzy realized his partner was right. He looked over at his professor. "We have a lot to talk about."

"You don't know the half of it," Professor Onodera agreed.

There would be plenty of time to talk later on, but now was the time for action. It would take an Ultimate-level Digimon to even up the odds. With that in mind, Izzy held up his Digivice.

****Kabuterimon … Digivolve to … MegaKabuterimon!****

Kabuterimon had reached the Ultimate level and things were starting to look up. MegaKabuterimon took the field, just as the other three Digimon were recovering. That's when Davis stepped onto the field, himself.

"Ok, team! We've got him outnumbered! Let's do it!"

The four Digimon on the field struck.

"**Howling Laser**!"

"**Spiking Strike**!"

"**Gargo Laser**!"

"**Horn Buster**!"

Izzy started to get worried that such an onslaught of attacks would inadvertently eradicate SuperStarmon. Just as expected, there was huge impact in the form of an explosion at the center of the field. It looked like they got overzealous and killed a Digimon.

But to everyone's surprise… SuperStarmon began to emerge from the smoke.

"I will **NOT** be cancelled like some bad sitcom! The show **WILL** go on!"

* * *

Takato looked around the locker room. The players and cheerleaders were scattering everywhere and he didn't see any sign of his friend. He treaded carefully through the locker room, trying not to get knocked down by the evacuating students. One player, in particular, caught his eye, however.

It was Takuya. Takato grabbed Takuya before his fellow goggle-head could make it out the locker room.

"Takuya!" Takato said, surprising the Warrior of Flame.

"Takato? What are you doing here, we gotta go!"

"I need to find Guilmon. I know you seen him!"

Takuya thought about that. He looked at the looming exit in front of them and back at Takuya, as if contemplating whether or not he should leave for safety or not. He sighed in defeat as he walked back into the locker room. "This way," he said as he quickly led Takato to the shower room.

Each shower was turned on. That didn't make things any easier. Takato looked through each shower stall, one-by-one, finding emptiness as Takuya led the way to one particular stall that didn't have its shower on. And that's where they found Guilmon. Much to Takato's surprise and shock, Guilmon was being held tightly by … a cheerleader.

"Hi, guys," Guilmon said calmly. "Uh… have you met my friend?"

Takuya sweatdropped as Takato muttered dryly, "What are you doing?"

"She's scared, Takato," Guilmon answered.

"Is that thing still out there?" the cheerleader cried.

"I think help's on the way," Takato answered. He reached over for Guilmon's hand. "Let's go get that help!"

The cheerleader held Guilmon's other hand. "You won't leave me, will you, Gil?"

"Uh … gee … I don't know …"

"We have to go … Gil," Takato persisted.

Guilmon obviously didn't want to leave this cheerleader. But this was a dire situation and it looked like he knew that. So Guilmon moved towards Takato while making sure to comfort his cheerleader friend.

"You'll be ok. We have to get help. I'll be back later."

The cheerleader was shaken, but nodded slowly. Now that this issue was settled, Takato started dragging Guilmon towards the back door that led outside, Takuya right beside them.

"Who was that?" Takuya asked curiously.

"Her name was … uh … darn, I knew I forgot something."

Takuya chuckled at the red lizard as the three of them ran out the exit.

Once they were safely out the door, they looked around to make sure the coast was clear. And with nobody around, it was time to take things to the next level.

"If SuperStarmon is as tough as I think he is… then I think you know what we have to do."

Guilmon nodded knowingly. There was one more trick that Takato had up his sleeve. And it was time to reveal it. Takato held up his Digivice.

Takuya looked at the two of them in concern, wondering what exactly they were about to do.

**BIOMERGE DIGIVOLUTION**

"Biomerge Digivolution activate!"

****Guilmon … Biomerge to … Gallantmon!****

It had been a very long time, but Takato had once again resorted to Biomerging. It would be up to the Mega-level Gallantmon to save the day.

* * *

Gatomon just batted around a ball of string. "Is it me or is this night really boring?"

Renamon sighed deeply. "I agree with you, for once. It's a shame that everybody is across campus, because that leaves us on our own."

"There isn't even a soccer game on TV at this hour!" Gatomon cried. "I can't spend this night bored out of my skull … ESPECIALLY with YOU!"

"You think I'M thrilled about this?" Renamon demanded. "I'd love nothing better than to toss you around right now, but we agreed we wouldn't. And it's too bad, because you're such a weak, little furball. I'd make short work of you."

"That's not how it went last time!" Gatomon shot back. "I had you going!"

"As I recall, I was winning last time."

"You were winning because you spit water in my face!"

"And you only got a brief advantage because you jumped me by surprise!"

Calumon thought he was having a relatively easy night. No conflicts had arisen between Renamon and Gatomon until now. It looked like the little one would have to try and ease tensions once again. Then he got an idea.

"Hey, Impmon? I think I have a way we can all get along!"

Impmon just casually chewed on a hot dog. "They look like they're about to lose it. You really think YOU can do anything about it?"

Calumon ran over to the closet. "I think Jeri might have something we can use. I remember seeing it a while ago."

Calumon realized he couldn't reach all the way up for what he was reaching for, so he had to use his head and grab a chair to reach up there. He tried to pull the box back, but he lost his balance and fell back. Impmon, ever considerate, caught Calumon… but dropped him a second later to catch the box.

Impmon scoffed when he saw the box. "THIS is what you're gonna solve the problem with?"

Calumon's ears shrunk. "I think it could work."

Curious as a cat, Gatomon walked over to Impmon. "What do we have here?" When she saw it, she actually smiled. "Now this could be fun."

"What is it?" Renamon asked curiously.

Gatomon held up the box and smirked. "Twister!"

Renamon sweatdropped. "PLEASE tell me that isn't what I think it is."

Calumon definitely had honorable intentions. A nice game would hopefully smooth things out between Renamon and Gatomon. However, there was the matter of Impmon. And Impmon decided to play instigator.

"You know, I have an idea of my own," Impmon began. "Since you two are so bent on wanting to know who's better, I propose … a little competition. And the name of the game is Twister. One-on-one. What do ya say?"

Gatomon snickered. "Oh, come on. I've never known anyone to be as stiff as Renamon. She wouldn't last five seconds."

"Is that what you think?" Renamon snapped. "I'll show you, cat! I'm in!"

"So am I!" Gatomon shot back.

Calumon sweatdropped. "Uh… Impmon? This isn't what I really had-"

"Quiet," Impmon whispered back. "This could be loads of fun if it goes the way I think it will."

Tensions were rising again. Though the battle would be in a much more domestic setting, that didn't mean it wouldn't be any less intense. And Calumon could practically feel the fireworks about to go off.

"SET IT UP!" Renamon and Gatomon snapped at Calumon.

Poor Calumon felt like he was caught in the middle. Playing peacemaker wasn't as much fun as he thought it'd be.

* * *

TK could feel the sweat going down his temples as he sat behind the wheel. He looked to his left to see Tai revving the engine on his motorcycle, but with the helmet over his head, he couldn't tell what Tai was feeling. A large crowd had gathered on the sidelines and one man stood in between the two cars. He held up a white flag, which would signal the start of the race.

The goal was to reach the painted white line at the end of the alley first. It had to be at least a mile away. And though there were many people eager to see a good race, they immediately thought of the whole thing as a mismatch when they saw Tai's motorcycle … and TK's busted Toyota.

More than anything, TK was finding himself with something to prove. He had to prove that his car wasn't anything to be laughed at. A lot of pride was at stake and he would show that motorcycles weren't all they were cracked up to be.

As Tai revved his motorcycle, TK decided to get his car started. Unfortunately when he turned the key…the car wouldn't start. The whole crowd went silent … with the exception of a few snickers.

TK stuck his head out his window. "It's ok! It'll be one second!"

The most embarrassing thing would be if he had to jumpstart his car for a race. But TK knew it wouldn't have to come to that. He gave the key one more turn and stepped on the gas. His Toyota finally got started. The crowd dramatically hushed as both engines revved, even though Tai's was much louder. And when the white flag was waved, the race began.

And as just about everybody expected, Tai pulled away early. TK's Toyota practically sputtered ahead while Tai wasn't even going at full speed. The old leader of the DigiDestined was as cocky as the hare was when he was smoking the tortoise.

That's when TK decided that it was time to pull ahead. He flipped the switch right by the parking brake to activate the NOS boost. Although TK had never actually USED the boost before, so when he flipped the switch, he got more than he bargained for.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

The Toyota now sputtered along, but at a blinding speed. TK pulled past a very surprised Tai, but that's when everything started to go wrong. The engine began to die and that wasn't good for the nitro. The car came to a stop and TK's trunk burst into flames. A chill went down TK's spine when he realized what was about to happen.

"That can't be good."

Without giving it a second thought, TK threw his door opened and leapt out of his car. He ran as far as he could before his car finally exploded. The explosion sent TK diving for the ground and when he raised his head, he saw that he was right at the foot of Tai's motorcycle.

Tai whistled. "Isn't that something?"

TK turned around and saw that his Toyota was nothing more than a pile of flaming parts now. His car was totaled.

Tai shook his head. "TK, don't you realize that nitro doesn't mesh well with a pile of junk?"

TK stayed silent momentarily before he finally asked. "Did I at least win?"

Tai pointed at the line. TK was astounded when he saw that he had missed the white line by a few feet. He missed it by that much.

"I think it's safe to say you forfeit, since your car's toast," Tai grinned.

"Maybe you're right," TK grumbled. "Ok, you can take Catherine to the game."

"What about my $50?"

"You'll get it after my next paycheck!" TK growled. Then he realized something. "That is, if I still have a job! How am I supposed to deliver pizzas without a car?"

Tai nodded. "Good point. Oh, well. You can worry about that while I take Catherine to the game." He was about to drive off, but when he looked around, he turned the engine off. "Uh … where IS she?"

TK looked around, too. "I thought she was with you."

**SILENCE**.

"Don't tell me I went through all this for nothing!" Tai cried.

"What about what *I* went through?" TK shot back. "I lost my car!"

"Well, that's just great. I completely wipe you out in a race and Catherine isn't even here to see it. I was actually feeling young for the first time in a long time. Hop on, I'll give you a ride back to campus. Maybe we can catch the end of the game."

TK got on the back of the motorcycle. "We've got to stop letting girls drive us crazy."

"No kidding. I tell your brother that all the time."

TK shrugged. "I really should take after him. He's smart enough to stick with the right girl."

"I thought you _had_ the right girl."

That hurt. As soon as Tai said that, TK immediately thought of Kari and what they used to share together. It was hard for him to cope with knowing that it was really over between them, especially since it was never his decision to break up. He still tried to convince himself that moving on was the best thing.

If anything, this whole fiasco was at least getting his mind off of Kari … and off his classes.

* * *

There was now a standoff on the field. Stingmon, Lobomon, Gargomon, and MegaKabuterimon had thrown everything at SuperStarmon but the kitchen sink. Not only was the star still standing, but he was still tossing out annoying one-liners like nobody else could.

"Is that it?" SuperStarmon scoffed. "I've had tougher battles with rowdy fans and autograph chasers. I've had tougher battles with a two Digi-Dollar steak. Come on, put some muscle into it!"

Gargomon and Stingmon groaned. This was getting tiring and they just wanted the fight to end. Lobomon did a feral growl, annoyance soon taking him over. MegaKabuterimon went ahead and tried to bring the fight to him.

"**Horn Buster**!"

But like all the other attacks, that one just created an explosion from which SuperStarmon emerged unscathed. Everybody was getting visibly frustrated and the Digimon Empress couldn't enjoy it more.

She had the best seat in the house. She was right underneath the visitors' bleachers, watching the whole show. The only problem she had was that SuperStarmon spent more time coming up with witty remarks and sarcastic quips than getting the job done. It was just as she, Datamon, and Puppetmon thought. He was too cocky for his own good. He's toying with them when he should be destroying them.

"So… you guys give up?" SuperStarmon smirked.

"Give up?" Gargomon growled. "We aren't giving up!"

"And who's gonna stop me?"

"I will!"

That wasn't any of the four Digimon there. The Digimon Empress distinctly heard someone else boldly stepping up to the plate. She looked over and saw that a fifth ally had arrived for the DigiDestined, Legendary Warriors, and Tamers. One whom she didn't recognize. He looked like a tall knight, with a lance on his right hand and large round shield on his left. He wore white armor and a large red cape that blew in the wind.

His presence angered SuperStarmon. "Hey, what is this? Don't you know that Medieval movies are a thing of the past?"

"I'm not an actor, I'm a hero! And I'm here to put a stop to you, SuperStarmon, and teach you a lesson for ruining our season opener!"

That was a second voice that came out of this Digimon. The Digimon Empress had heard it before, but she couldn't place where.

"Who is that?" Lobomon muttered under his breath.

"That's Gallantmon!" Gargomon announced. "Mega-level Digimon with a sense of justice as big as his cape. He should be more than able to handle this clown!"

Gallantmon and SuperStarmon went one-on-one and circled each other. It was like a western showdown, something that would be more characteristic of a cowpoke like Starmon. Finally, SuperStarmon attacked first by lifting his shades.

"**Galactic Eyes**!"

The eye beams bounced harmlessly off Gallantmon's shield. That got the cocky star nervous … and cowering.

"Uh- hey, that's a nice shield you have there. I was just joking, pal. WAIT! I don't do my own stunts!"

Gallantmon rushed forward. "**Lightning Joust**!"

After taking just about everything the other Digimon could dish out, Gallantmon's Lightning Joust attack sent SuperStarmon flying. The Digimon Empress's jaw dropped. That was unparalleled power.

"Datamon, are you seeing this?" she whispered into her communicator.

"_That is a very interesting Digimon. And VERY powerful. We may be in over our heads. You'd better report back here. We need to regroup."_

Gallantmon went with his next attack. "**Shield of the Just**!"

Attacking with his enormous shield, Gallantmon nailed SuperStarmon right in the face. The star flew back until he hit the post of the soccer goal. He fell on his face and struggled to get up. He had been beaten. Not just beaten, but utterly wiped out by Gallantmon.

The Digimon Empress grumbled. "Powerful, indeed."

Finally having the opening he needed, Gargomon aimed and fired. "**Gargo Laser**!"

The Black Gear on SuperStarmon's back was blown into oblivion. The battle was over. With SuperStarmon still down on the ground, everybody took the field.

DigiDestined leader, Davis Motomiya, looked up at the hero of the night. "Gallantmon?"

"Guilmon's Mega form," Henry cleared up.

"You guys can reach Mega?" Ken asked.

"Yeah," a second voice of Gallantmon's answered. "But, there IS a little more to it than you might think."

Davis was in awe. "TAKATO?"

Neither any of the DigiDestined nor the Legendary Warriors present could believe what they were seeing. Frankly, neither could The Digimon Empress. It was unlike anything she had ever seen. Takato was a part of Gallantmon. Takato WAS Gallantmon!

Gallantmon cleared his throat. "Uh … ok … guys … this is how Tamers reach Mega. We Biomerge with our Digimon."

They were speechless.

Henry cleared his throat. "I guess we have even more to talk about."

With this new information in mind, The Digimon Empress knew she had to rush back to the Digital World. Biomerging was a whole new thing they hadn't factored in at all.

* * *

Yoshino watched as Gallantmon defeated SuperStarmon with great ease. She had never seen a Digimon so powerful before, and was glad that a Digimon like that was at least fighting for the good side. The more she watched these other Tamers, the DigiDestined, and the Legendary Warriors, the more she wanted the Hypnos team to reveal themselves to them. But, Yamaki wasn't ready to ally himself with them just yet. What exactly he was waiting for… Yoshi could never quite understand.

The Chosen Children below had began discussing their current predicament, when Yoshi's own Digivice went off. "_That was a pretty spectacular battle_. _Don't you think so_, _Yoshi?_"

The nineteen-year-old nodded her head in agreement when she saw movement coming from the visitors' bleachers across the field. She couldn't quite make it out, but she was sure that it was another figure hiding in the shadows. She turned heel and ran towards the bottom of the bleachers, not caring that the DigiDestined, Legendary Warriors, or Tamers might see her.

She was a Tamer, herself, so she didn't see what the big deal was. Unfortunately she misguided her steps and she bumped into someone. It was a young girl who didn't look much younger than Yoshino. She had long, brown hair that was in curls and an exhausted look on her face. This surprised Yoshi more so because she thought everybody had been evacuated from the stadium.

"What are you doing here?" Yoshi asked the girl with suspicion.

The girl looked at Yoshi with her own equal amount of suspicion. "I was separated from the crowd… And with all the rocks falling from the sky, I took cover in the bathrooms," the brunette answered. Yoshi looked past the girl's head and noticed that the bathrooms were directly behind her. That didn't take away her doubt, though.

"What are you doing here?" Being a new government agent, one would think that Yoshi would be able to talk her way out of any situation, but she had no idea how she was going to answer that particular question. She wasn't hiding, in fact, she was running TOWARDS the destroyed soccer field.

Luckily (and maybe surprisingly), a familiar face came around the corner. It was Thomas H. Norstein, with his Digivice laced around his neck.

She never got a chance to ask him or pry as to why he had a Digivice and how he had gotten one, but Yoshi knew far too well what that contraption was that was hanging around the boy prodigy's neck, for Yoshi had one just like it in her pocket.

"Naomi!" Thomas said to the girl, who looked at him in surprise. Her eyes scanned his Digivice, but only for a second. Thomas walked up to the two of them, worried plastered all on his face.

"I've been looking all over for you. Your mother is worried sick," he told her.

At the mention of her mother, Naomi gasped. "My MOM!"

She had completely forgotten that her mother was at the game, apparently.

Thomas had began eyeing Yoshino with great suspicion, as she did the same. "Yes, she sent me to come looking for you."

"Thanks…" the girl named Naomi started, but she finally began to notice the glare Yoshi and Thomas were giving each other. She wasn't sure, but these two had it in for each other.

"Yes, don't mention it… you better get going," Thomas said solemnly. "Wouldn't want to make her worry anymore than she has to." Naomi continued to look from Yoshi to Thomas, not sure what to make of it. Not wasting any more time, though, she ran to the exit of the stadium, her hair bouncing behind her.

Yoshi found this as her opportunity to speak freely. Likewise, so did Thomas. "Who ARE you?" They both asked at the same time.

"I'm the one asking the questions around here," Yoshi demanded.

"Somebody has a false sense of superiority."

Yoshi growled at Thomas, not liking his elitist attitude one bit. "Hey, just because you have everybody at this school worshipping the ground you walk on, doesn't mean I will! How did you obtain a Digivice?"

Thomas merely smirked at her, not taking his eyes off of the Tamer. "I know you've been watching me."

"You bet I have! Thomas Norstein, seventeen-years-old. Your father is Franz Norstein, a renowned Austrian aristocrat who has much hold over this university. Graduated from Stockholm Royal University of Science at age-"

Thomas quickly cut her off, producing a small laugh. "Anybody could read a book about me and get all that information."

Yoshi was a little taken aback at how cocky and arrogant this kid was. Not that he didn't have the right to be, he was a certified boy genius. "I just want to know why you've been following me, and if you had anything to do with this recent string of Digimon attacks! And you WILL answer that question."

Yoshi felt like she had lost all control of the conversation. Not sure where to go from here, a voice in the shadows appeared.

It was Yamaki.

Decked out in his usual attire, topped with his sunglasses, Yamaki approached the two of them, cool as ever. "Like Yoshino said, we'll be asking all the questions around here, Professor Norstein."

Yamaki's presence seemed to have made Thomas lose his cool. He quickly regained his composure, however. "And who might-"

"All your questions will be answered. Just not here, just not tonight." Yamaki handed Thomas a card, with his name, a place and time on it. "Be here at exactly this time Monday afternoon."

Thomas scanned the card before looking back up at Yamaki. "How do I know I can trust you people?"

"You can't. Just like we don't know if we can trust you. And let me tell you now… I don't trust hardly anybody."

Thomas did that cocky smirk again, which by this point was getting to become an aggravation for Yoshino. Yamaki continued, "But, just as you expect all your questions to be answered… I expect all my questions to be answered, as well."

The blonde-haired boy continued to scan the card, an eyebrow raised. "Mitsuo Yamaki…?"

Yamaki turned towards Yoshino, "Good job."

Turning back towards Thomas, "And don't do anything underhanded like skip town."

Yoshino wanted to laugh at her boss's idea of a joke, but seeing the seriousness of the conversation, decided to keep her mouth closed. Thomas didn't think the joke was as funny as it could've been.

Nodding to the boy, Yamaki turned and began walking towards the exit, leaving Yoshino and Thomas alone, yet again.

"Nice guy," Thomas said, his smirk appearing for the umpteenth time. Yoshino frowned at him, rolled her eyes and began following Yamaki to the exit.

"This is the worst," she said to herself before walking out the door.

* * *

After the battle was over, Izzy felt like he was hallucinating. He couldn't believe what he saw and what he heard. And now his mind was filled with more curiosity than it had ever been. This must have been what Gennai was referring to when he said that the Tamers had more tricks up their sleeves. This was a whole new way to reach the Mega level and Izzy was more than excited about it.

Though as much as he wanted to rush over to Gallantmon and get all his questions out in the open, he knew that there were other questions that needed addressing. And all those questions regarded Professor Onodera, who was looking right at him.

"So you're not just a plain Teachers' Aide, are you, Izzy?"

"And you're not just an ordinary college professor, are you, Professor Onodera?"

Professor Onodera nodded and walked over to meet up with MegaKabuterimon, who was walking back. Izzy tagged along right behind her as MegaKabuterimon devolved into Motimon and jumped into his arms.

"Who are you?" Izzy asked. "Really?"

Professor Onodera answered with a question of her own. "Did you say you were a DigiDestined?"

"That's right."

"Then you and I need to see somebody," Professor Onodera replied. She handed Izzy a card. "Call this number on Monday morning and meet me in the computer lab. We're going to have a little meeting with my superior."

"Superior? Are you some kind of government agent?"

There was a twinkle in Professor Onodera's eye. "Come by on Monday and find out."

Without walking to any of the other children, Professor Onodera started to walk off the field. Izzy didn't know what to make of this at all.

All questions would be answered on Monday.

* * *

Gatomon and Renamon stood with their arms crossed and their backs to one another. They had matching sour expressions on their faces, something that was quickly becoming routine. Calumon hated to see them like this. He didn't think things would get so intense… over a game of Twister.

The mat was out in the middle of the floor. Impmon was standing on the table with the spinner in his hand, ready to referee the whole thing. And to drive home the intensity of the competition, Renamon and Gatomon turned around and glared at each other coldly.

"Alright, let's get this party started," Impmon smirked. He spun the spinner. "Right hand, blue."

Without taking their eyes off one another, Renamon and Gatomon put their right hand on a blue circle.

"Right foot, green."

The green circle was in front of the blue circle. Therefore, they both had to turn around to put their foot in the right place. Of course, Renamon turned clockwise, nearly tripping Gatomon. She managed to stand on one hand to avoid getting her legs swept out from under her.

"Nice try, Foxy."

Renamon just growled like a wild animal upon hearing that moniker. Calumon noticed that she was turning a shade of red, a big difference from her usual yellow.

The game continued with left foot on yellow, right hand on green, left hand on red, right foot on blue, and left hand on blue. Now both Digimon were on two feet, but bending down with their arms crossed in front of them on the ground. It didn't bode well for Gatomon, because Renamon's furry tail was literally in her face … and tickling her nose.

"Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah … CHOO!"

"EWWW!"

Renamon took a spill on the ground when Gatomon sneezed on her. She was rolling around uncontrollably, losing her head like Calumon had never seen before.

"And that makes Gatomon the winner!" Impmon grinned.

"That's not fair!" Renamon cried. "She sneezed on me! I have cat germs all over me!"

"I beat you fair and square, Renamon," Gatomon smirked. "You don't have nerves of steel and catlike reflexes like I do."

Renamon reached for a towel and frantically cleaned her fur. Then she tossed the towel aside.

"I guess you can't beat me at Twister, either," Gatomon grinned. "Why don't you just admit that I'm better than you?"

Renamon sighed. "You know, it's a shame that I can't let Rika watch me wring your neck, because then I'd be on my way back home."

"That's a very good point, Foxy," Gatomon said smugly.

Renamon suddenly got in Gatomon's face. "But, Rika isn't here … IS SHE?"

Gatomon gulped as the room quieted to a hush. After a brief moment of silence, Renamon reached over and put her arms around Gatomon's neck, strangling her furiously.

"Just like that show my old Tamers used to watch all the time," Impmon laughed furiously.

Calumon ran over to try and separate them. "Renamon, STOP! Let go! What if someone comes in right now! You could get sent home! Cut it out! Impmon, HELP ME!"

The scene had degenerated into chaos. Renamon had a firm grip on Gatomon's neck. Gatomon had now reached over for Renamon's neck. Poor Calumon was trying to loosen their grips to no avail. And Impmon… was eating popcorn on the table.

And as if things couldn't get any worse… the door suddenly opened. And when it did, all action came to a screeching halt and all eyes were on the door.

Calumon waved cheerfully. "Hi, Jeri!"

Jeri Katou was standing speechless at the door. "What's going on here?"

Renamon and Gatomon released their grips and pointed at each other. "SHE STARTED IT!"

Jeri frowned. "Calumon, I thought you had things under control. And Impmon… why are you just sitting there eating popcorn?"

Impmon shrugged. "I haven't seen a fight this good since the last soccer riot."

Jeri wandered over to the bickering Renamon and Gatomon and put a hand on each of their shoulders. "I thought you two were starting to get along. I thought you two could hold in your grudge. Are you telling me that your rage towards one another is worth risking being sent home? What do you two have to say for yourselves?"

Both Digimon hung their heads down, while facing away from one another.

"I have let my anger overcome me," Renamon said shamefully. "I lost control."

"Yeah, I didn't exactly help, either," Gatomon added.

"So will you two just shake hands?"

"NO!" they both snapped.

Jeri sighed and put a hand in her pocket. When she put it back up, she revealed her sock puppet.

"If you don't, I'll tell Rika and Kari about this," the puppet threatened. "And then you'll BOTH be heading home!"

Renamon and Gatomon gulped before hastily shaking hands.

Jeri grinned and looked at her puppet. "It's a start."

"We'll keep working on it," the puppet said.

Calumon looked over at the calendar and realized that he had only been on this campus for a few weeks. He couldn't bear to think how much of a chore playing peacekeeper would be in the future.

He didn't want to play this game anymore.

* * *

"You didn't have to follow me back here."

Rika tried to stray as far from Ryo as she could, yet he was still following along right behind her. She didn't know what he was doing there since she certainly wasn't about to invite him into her apartment.

"I just wanted to make sure you got back safely," Ryo said innocently.

"I don't need anybody's protection," Rika growled. "I can take care of myself! You, of all people, should know that."

"Yeah, I guess I should. So… as long as I'm here… don't you want to invite me in?"

"No."

Ryo smirked as they reached Rika's door. "What's the matter? Your place a mess?"

"I happen to be VERY clean! My roommates and I may not have too much in common, but we're all the same in that respect."

"Your roommates? I don't think I've met them."

"Well, you know Jeri. And Zoë was at that the game with me-"

"You mean the blonde one?" "Yes, the blonde one. And then there's …"

Rika stopped. She saw a lot of Kari's personality traits in Ryo and vice versa. The only difference was that Ryo was so confident that it sometimes got to the point of arrogance, while Kari totally played it innocent when it came to her perfections.

"… Kari."

"I think I might have seen her at the game, too. She's pretty cute."

"You and Kari are cut from the same mold," Rika quipped sarcastically. "You both live to annoy me and it's a wonder I can tolerate either of you!"

"Oh, now I'm curious. I want to get to know this girl a little better."

"Well, that's too bad because she's not here! And neither should you! Don't you have a home?"

"Yeah, I got a little place. Just a temporary little apartment while I take the year off. I can take a hint, Rika. I'd better go find Takato and Henry, anyway. But I'll definitely see you around."

"I look forward to it," Rika grumbled.

Rika stuck around with her hand on the doorknob as Ryo turned to walk away. But there was one more thing she wanted to say before he left.

"Hey! You owe me a rematch!"

"Rika, you've never beaten me before in your life. It's getting pretty boring."

Rika turned beet red. "I'll show you, Ryo Akiyama! You are NOT that good!"

"You just keep telling yourself that, Rika. You might even start to believe it someday."

Rika felt like screaming. This was an exercise in frustration. But she wouldn't give Ryo the satisfaction of seeing her explode. So she waited until he was safely out of sight before turning the doorknob to unleash her anger somewhere else. Unfortunately, the room was occupied.

Jeri had come back. She looked at Rika curiously, noting the shade of angry red her face had turned, the fire in her eyes, and the angry twitch just above her right eye.

Renamon seemed to know what that meant. "Uh oh … I know that look …"

Jeri knew it, too. "He's back … isn't he?"

Rika answered that question with a scream. "**AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH**!"

* * *

After the whole debacle on the soccer field, students were all over campus and so were police and campus security. With all the boys in blue out there, the team decided to go off campus to grab a bite to eat. Davis wasn't exactly hungry and neither was Kari, which made it the best time for them to have a moment to themselves. It was too bad that Kari's mind was elsewhere.

"Is a normal college life too much to ask?" Kari grumbled.

Davis shook his head. "I don't know about that one, but this was a great night! Sure, the season opener got crashed, but I think we really came together tonight as a team."

"Doesn't any of this worry you at all, Davis? We don't even know what we're up against right now."

"Doesn't matter," Davis said confidently. "Whatever we're up against, we can take care of it because we're a team. We'll always come out on top, no matter what it is."

Kari giggled. "That's what I really like about you, Davis. You're so…"

"Handsome? Dashing? Cunning?"

"Optimistic."

"Oh. Well … I'm that, too."

After getting through the crowd, Davis and Kari reached the relatively empty dorm building. After all they had been through, this was a great romantic setting and no one knew it more than Davis. He pulled Kari a little closer and put his arms around her waist.

"I always dreamed of holding you like this."

Kari smiled. "You aren't dreaming anymore."

Davis was about to reach over for a kiss, until…

Kari gasped. "TK!"

Davis shifted his gaze to see that TK was just arriving. He looked exhausted … and curious.

"Is there a reason why there are police everywhere?" TK asked.

"We had another Digimon attack," Kari answered. "But we beat him and got the Black Gear off safely. Right now, he's back in the Digital World … as cocky as ever."

"So I guessed I missed out?"

"You should have seen Takato!" Davis exclaimed. "We'll tell you all about it in the morning."

"All right. Where is everybody?"

"Out getting something to eat, except for Guilmon who went for a walk with a cheerleader."

"Huh?"

"We'll talk later."

"Oh… ok."

TK slowly made his way to the door and Davis and Kari kept their eyes on him.

"Are you alright, TK?" Davis asked.

TK looked back and saw Davis holding Kari affectionately. It was starting to sink into Davis that this may have been having a negative effect on him. It may have brought back old memories and it may be hurting him to see Kari in someone else's arms.

But to his surprise, TK smiled. "Yeah. I'm just thinking about what a lucky guy you are. Good night."

TK walked into the building and no one was in as much shock as Kari was.

"I… wasn't expecting that," Kari said softly.

"But, he's right, you know," Davis replied. "I am a lucky guy."

And with that, Davis finally reached over and kissed Kari. The two of them stood there for nearly a minute before putting some space between their faces. Looking into each other's eyes, Davis was probably the happiest guy on Earth right about now.

"Perfect," Kari whispered happily.


	16. Pride

A whole new school week was starting and for the students of Odaiba University, it was more than welcome. After the season opener was crashed by SuperStarmon, the student body was agitated and thus, nearly everyone stayed inside their rooms.

It had to be because they had never seen anything like it before, because this wasn't anything unusual for Kazu Shiota. After some of the things he had seen, a flamboyant Ultimate-level Digimon under the influence of a Black Gear was practically nothing in comparison.

Evil Digimon and dangerous Digimon under the influence of Black Gears didn't get to Kazu. There was only one thing that had him worrying at this point in his college tenure. It was the history class that had just concluded for the day. But, more than the class, what worried Kazu… was the teacher.

Walking through the hall of the liberal arts building, Kazu must have been going pretty slowly, because Kenta quickly caught up to him.

"Did you get the assignment?" Kenta asked.

Kazu nodded. "An eight-page paper! I'm telling you, Miss Asaji still has it in for us!"

"We're barely getting into the second month! How can we already be getting papers that big?"

"Ok, it's best not to think about it. We need something to get that off our minds."

Kenta sighed. "Why can't an evil Digimon ever attack during class instead of during a soccer game?"

"I ask myself that all the time."

Before that conversation could get anymore stimulating, Kazu and Kenta noticed that everyone was quickly filing out of the building. While that wasn't unusual, what was weird was that everybody seemed to be heading in one direction in a hurry.

Through the whole crowd, Kazu reached over and managed to grab a familiar shoulder. "What's going on?"

Kazu managed to grab the shoulder of Davis, who was running out with the rest of the students.

"Something happened in the gym!" Davis explained.

"What happened in the gym?" Kenta asked.

"I don't know yet," Davis answered. "I was about to go find out."

"Then, we'll tag along," Kazu suggested. "Let's go!"

Something curious was afoot at the Odaiba University gymnasium. Like the rest of the student body, Kazu, Kenta, and Davis all wanted to find out what it was, so they headed out and followed the crowd.

* * *

Days, turning into weeks, had passed since they had been sent on this mission. Thus far, they hadn't made a single discovery. It was starting to get to Agumon, who wanted to know what it was that was threatening his world. But, like his friends, Agumon wasn't about to give up.

After leaving Baihumon's castle where they first received their mission, the gang of six caught the first available Trailmon out of the Forest Terminal and they now found themselves at the industrial Flame Terminal on the Continent of Flame, taking a leisurely break. Though rest was the best medicine for the weary, Agumon knew that they couldn't rest for too long.

Hawkmon, Neemon, and Armadillomon ecstatically ate the meals on their plates that the Poyomon gave them, while Bokomon sat on the floor reading out of a book, trying to see if something that has been written can help them with their current mission. Gabumon just looked out of the window of the small house they were in. His brain must have been running a mile a minute, wondering just what they were hunting. Agumon, in the meantime, decided to get down to some business with the Poyomon present.

"So we're out here looking for someone using Black Gears," Agumon explained. "A human. Have you seen anyone like that around?"

"We haven't seen a human around here for a while now," one of the Poyomon answered.

"Are you sure?" Agumon asked. "This human's been using Black Gears and abducting Digimon. Have you noticed if Digimon have been disappearing?"

The Poyomon huddled up and murmured amongst themselves. After a team huddle, the Poyomon looked at Agumon and nodded.

"Now that we think about it, there HAVE been Digimon disappearing," the Poyomon said. "One of us saw a Cherrymon wander over towards a shadow. I guess now that we think about it … it sorta DID look like a human. And there was something in his leaves. I guess you could say it WAS a Black Gear."

"Where did this happen?"

"Over near the forest."

"Hey, guys!" Agumon called out. "We have a break! There may be something outside the village!"

Hawkmon, Neemon, and Armadillomon swallowed what was in their mouths nervously and exchanged glances. Bokomon looked away from his book wearily, while Gabumon turned away from the window to look at Agumon.

After days of nothing, it looked like they were finally making some progress. But what would they find when they got out to the forest?

* * *

Kazu couldn't believe what he was seeing. Neither could the rest of the students present. Indeed, something had happened out by the gymnasium. And it was by the dragon statue in front of it.

The statue had been toilet papered. White sheets of quilted toilet paper covered the entire statue and the statue was dripping with ketchup and mustard. And on the arm of the dragon hung a rope that was holding an effigy of the Odaiba Dragons' mascot. And it hardly looked anything like Guilmon.

Everybody could only wonder how anybody could vandalize the statue like this. Who could have done such a thing? Then they got their question answered as they looked behind the statue and saw a banner hanging by the gym. It was a banner that read:

**Odaiba Dragons Fear Tamachi Samurais**

The whole student body was outraged. Everybody was in an uproar over what was now revealed to be a stunt pulled by someone from Tamachi Technical University. The Tamachi Samurais and the Odaiba Dragons shared a very intense rivalry that dated back many years. It was a rivalry that came to a head with the annual Odaiba University/Tamachi Tech soccer game. And while the rivalry was often fun and competitive, it also had its ugly moments such as this one.

"I can't believe somebody trashed our statue like this," Davis grumbled.

Kazu looked around at each and every student present and saw how upset they were about this. And he saw that they wanted to get back at them.

Kazu pulled Kenta over and whispered into his ear. "I just thought of something. Let's head back." He then tapped Davis on the shoulder.

"Uh … we'll meet up with you later. We have … something to do."

Davis blinked. "Uh … ok. See you later."

Kazu dragged Kenta by the arm away from the scene. He couldn't wait to get back to his room, because the gears in his head were turning. And he had a good feeling about this one.

* * *

Izzy, with Tentomon in his hands, walked down the hall towards the computer labs. He was supposed to have met Professor Onodera here so she can introduce him to her superior, but he was afraid that he would be running late. After all, Izzy still had classes and homework, himself.

Once he got to the doors that led to the various computer labs, he saw a boy with blonde hair about to enter the very same door. Izzy recognized him as Professor Norstein, the seventeen-year-old Psychology professor. Never actually meeting him in person, Izzy was even more amazed that he was about to enter the same door as him.

However, Professor Norstein quickly let go of the doorknob, fearing that Izzy was just some passerby. "Professor Norstein?" Izzy asked quizzically.

The boy flinched at the name, as if it irritated him every time somebody said it.

"Please, call me Thomas. What can I do for you?"

Thomas looked at Tentomon curiously. Izzy sweatdropped, not sure what he would say to get the prodigy away from the door where his meeting was about to begin.

"Uh... I actually... was going to have study hall in here and I'm kinda running late so-"

Thomas quickly cut him off, "Sorry, but I have some important matters to attend to and I'll be using this room. I'm sure you can find another place to study."

This wasn't going well. Professor Onodera was waiting for him, and Professor Norstein seemed as if he wasn't going without a fuss. Why on Earth would he be so interested in THIS particular room?

"Sir… I believe my study group is already here…"

"I told you, I have important things to handle and I need-"

The door they were both trying to get in slowly opened. It gave an eerie air about it; no light came from the room as a girl with short, red hair came to greet them.

"Izzy Izumi," she said pleasantly.

Izzy was surprised that she knew his name because he had no idea where they had met. "Um… yes?"

Then, she looked at Professor Norstein. Her pleasant smile turned into an aggravated frown. "Thomas," she said rudely.

Professor Norstein smiled at her. "Nice to see you, too."

She rolled her eyes at him as she ushered the two of them inside. Both were a little surprised to see the other being ushered into the room. Neither Izzy nor Thomas knew what to expect.

The computer lab was completely empty. Izzy stopped right where he was. He heard other voices coming from the corner of the computer lab. He turned his head and saw a shadowy figure in the corner. The faint light barely shone on Professor Onodera as she walked over and shut the door behind them, so nobody else could come in. But, Izzy noticed there was a two more figures shrouded in the darkness.

"Is that the one you told me about, Talley?" one of the figures asked.

"That's him, sir," Professor Onodera answered. "I had him pegged as a suspect, but after the events of the season opener, I'm convinced he's on our side."

The mysterious figure lit a lighter that was in his hand. The faint brightness it created revealed his face. Middle-aged with dark sunglasses and a head of blond hair.

He took a quick glance at Professor Norstein, who had a solemn expression on his face.

"Professor Norstein. Nice of you to join us," the man in shades said to the blonde-haired boy. Thomas sneered. Izzy wasn't sure what the hostility was about, but he did know that Thomas had somehow gotten himself mixed up with this guy, as well.

He then moved on to Izzy, "And you must be Izzy Izumi," he said.

Izzy nodded. "Yeah. But, who are you?"

The man stood up. "My name is Mitsuo Yamaki. I trust you know Talley Onodera?"

He then motioned to the last figure in the room. It was a woman, in her mid to late twenties, and had raven hair that came a little past her shoulders. "This is Riley Ootori," Yamaki introduced.

"Everyone here at Odaiba University knows us as three of its newest professors. I'm here to tell you that that's all a masquerade."

"I had my suspicions," Izzy replied. "I started to suspect something when I saw the way Professor Onodera attempted to handle the situation at the season opener. It was as if she knew exactly what was going on. Just who are you guys, anyway?"

"We're undercover agents," Professor Talley Onodera answered. "We work for the government as part of an operation known as Hypnos. We know all about the Digimon, so there's really no need for you to keep up the act in front of us."

Tentomon sighed in relief. "It was getting hard to keep still like this. I had an itch in my nose."

Professor Norstein jumped in surprise, not expecting the bug to move. "A-A-Another Digimon?" He asked.

That got Izzy's senses up. Yamaki turned his focus on Professor Norstein. "Which brings us to you, Mr. Norstein," he said.

Thomas, not taking his off Tentomon, replied, "What about me? What is all this? How do you people know about the Digimon? I want some answers!"

The girl with the red hair jumped in. "Hey, I suggest you calm down. Now!"

Yamaki stepped in, not at all taken aback by Professor Norstein's outburst.

"Yoshino, that won't be necessary. We're all going to keep our cool. Aren't we, Thomas?"

Thomas was fed up with Yamaki beating around the bush. "I'm not answering any questions until you tell me EXACTLY who you are!"

Izzy wasn't sure what was happening, but he could tell that everyone in the room was becoming a little agitated. He, however, remained silent.

Yamaki sighed, "I've known about the Digimon for a long time. I was one of the first to look into the Highton View Terrace incident, the battle between two giant Digimon. No advances were ever made and the government eventually wrote the whole thing off and never brought attention to it again. It's very similar to many UFO sightings. The best course of action to take is create a cover story and never mention the incident again.

"Then there was an incident that was far too difficult to brush aside. It was the day that an evil Digimon known as Myotismon and his minions invaded Odaiba. It was the first instance in which the DigiDestined were revealed, as they came out to stop the threat and eventually headed to the Digital World to handle another disturbance. Unlike previous instances, this was something far too big to be ignored. This was something that didn't go unnoticed by the government.

"Witnesses saw the Digital World appear in the sky after the Myotismon threat was thwarted. They also saw the DigiDestined head into the Digital World and fight the being known as Apocalymon. And our government jumped in to investigate the phenomena. Our government, the military, and scientists throughout the world attempted to find a way into the Digital World. But, just as we began to make headway, vital dates in the computers were changed and important information was suddenly lost. None of us understood how the information could just vanish without a trace or how dates could just suddenly change."

Izzy knew. He remembered hearing this story from Gennai. In the years between the defeat of Apocalymon and the emergence of The Digimon Emperor, Gennai spent those years with his allies trying to cover everything up. They secretly changed all the dates on the computers to keep the Digital World hidden.

"The government was ready to give up, but I wasn't," Yamaki continued. "Four years after that, the organization known as Hypnos was founded. Shortly after Hypnos was created, Digital Fields began to appear throughout the town of West Shinjuku and Digimon we classified as 'wild ones' began to appear in our world. Remembering such disasters as the Highton View Terrace incident and the Myotismon invasion, I found Digimon to be nothing more than a menace. I wanted to squash the threat once and for all by destroying all Digimon in our world.

"All of our efforts, however, proved to be failures. The only ones able to defeat the wild ones were the Digimon Tamers. Hypnos was a failure and was eventually destroyed by the gargantuan pig Deva, Vikaralamon, along with pretty much all of West Shinjuku. At that point, I began to see the Tamers as allies fighting the good fight and began to see that not all Digimon were evil. That's when the D-Reaper began to emerge and nearly destroyed both worlds.

"The Tamers eventually defeated the D-Reaper once and for all and I began to think that we finally had solid evidence of the existence of Digimon and the Digital World. But once again, computer dates were changed and information suddenly disappeared without a trace … just like the last time. And we were back where we started. Hypnos lost all its funding to how much of a failure it was. I never gave up, however. A year after the D-Reaper incident, another Digimon sighting had been seen in Shibuya.

"A large Digimon found out to be called Lucemon had appeared in Shibuya, wrecking all kinds of havoc on the city and its citizens. But, a single warrior came and dragged the creature back through a Digital Field, and that was the only thing known from that sighting. No significant information was collected, seeing as how both Digimon appeared and disappeared so quickly. After that attack, it seemed that the reemergence of harmful Digimon was imminent. So, Hypnos has been recreated, reformatted, redone."

"Fascinating," Professor Norstein retorted. "That still doesn't explain why you people are here in Odaiba."

"We received an unconfirmed report of a Digimon threat out here," Yamaki answered. "It's our belief that the Digimon that have appeared in Odaiba these past few weeks were merely flunkies. We believe there's something else out there preparing for a bigger invasion."

"And for that you have to pull this charade?" Izzy pointed out.

"There's another reason we're working undercover," Yamaki explained. "We've received word that a human being is the one bringing the Digimon into our world. Someone from this very school. A mole, if you will."

That's when it finally hit Izzy. He looked over at Talley. "That's why you were there that night! You thought _I _was the mole you were looking for!"

"That's right," Professor Onodera admitted. "You were my top suspect since the day we bumped into each other in the computer lab. I recognized the device you dropped as a Digivice. And that's when I figured out that what you carried with you everyday wasn't a stuffed animal."

Tentomon sighed. "I knew I couldn't keep up THAT act all year … again."

"And as for you…" Yamaki turned his gaze on Thomas, who was a little more than apprehensive. Yamaki pointed out Yoshino, who had managed to keep her cool the entire time, listening intently to Yamaki's tale.

"My newest agent of Hypnos, Yoshino Fujieda, has gone undercover as a transfer student from Tokyo to help us, as well," Yamaki explained.

Izzy was suddenly come over by a realization. "Yoshino? Hey, aren't you Yolei's roommate?"

Yoshino was a little caught off guard by the mention of her roommate. "You know Yolei?"

"She's an old friend of mines," Izzy began to explain, but when Yamaki began making moves towards Thomas, he turned his attention towards that.

Yamaki pointed back to Izzy, stepping in Thomas's face. "I know HIS story," Yamaki began, referring to Izzy, "But, I definitely don't know yours! Yoshino has told me that you have the EXACT same Digivice as her! How did you obtain yours?"

Now, Izzy was surprised even more. To think that he wasn't the only one in this room with a Digivice, and one of them just happened to be a teenage professor at the school!

Thomas reached in his pocket and pulled out a small blue device, much smaller than anything Izzy had ever seen. His curiosity getting the best of him, Izzy exclaimed, "Oh, my. YOU have a Digivice, too?"

Thomas looked from Yamaki, to Yoshino, to Izzy, suspicion showing all over him.

"How do YOU know about Digimon? How did you get one?" Thomas asked him, eyeing Tentomon.

"He's a DigiDestined," Talley answered, who acknowledged that by a confused glance.

"We're getting off topic, Thomas. How did you come to possess a Digivice, yourself? How long have you had it?" Yamaki prodded even further.

"How do I know that I can trust you people? A group of secret agents going undercover that are involved in something that I barely know about myself!" Thomas was becoming VERY agitated.

That's when Riley decided to interject before the situation got TOO messy. "And that's exactly why we want to help, Thomas. We're not here to expose you or cause you ANY harm whatsoever. We're trying to figure things out just like you. But… don't you think it would be a easier if we just work together?"

Thomas gave the raven-haired woman a skeptical glance. He clutched the small Digivice tightly, making everyone wonder what he would do next.

Seeing how conflicted he was with everything, Yoshino did the only thing she could do. She took her own Digivice out of her pocket and raised it in the air. Izzy wasn't sure what exactly she was getting ready to do, and neither did Tentomon judging at how still the bug Digimon was.

"Lalamon ... Realize!"

With those words, a stream of light came from Yoshino's Digivice, and from that light emerged… a Digimon.

Izzy was amazed. From Yoshino's Digivice, a small, pink plant-like Digimon came. Thomas was shocked, as well. Indeed, he was speechless as he clutched his own Digivice.

"Prodigious," Izzy muttered as he reached for his computer, that curiosity of his coming into play. He scanned the Digimon: "Lalamon, Rookie-level, plant data type. Her main attack is Seed Blast."

The small Digimon floated behind Yoshino, a small smile on her little face. "Ooh, he's smart, Yoshi! Hit it right on the head," Lalamon said.

Ever since his junior year of college began, Izzy has been bombarded with one discovery of the Digital World after another. First, he meets the Tamers and the Legendary Warriors reincarnated. The Tamers have a whole different method of fighting compared to the DigiDestined. They Biomerge with their Digimon to reach the Mega level, and depend on the use of cards to enhance their Digimon's power. But, Yoshino and Thomas's Digivices were distinctly different design than any of the DigiDestined, Tamers, or Legendary Warriors' Digivices.

And nobody's Digivice had the power to store an actual Digimon inside of it. "What… are you guys?"

Yoshino frowned at the question. Izzy could've worded it a little bit better, he said it as if they were aliens. "We're called Tamers."

"But, none of the other Tamers that we met has a Digivice remotely like it."

Yoshino folded her arms in frustration. "Yeah, but when you guys first discovered the new DigiDestined Digivices, weren't they something you've never seen before?"

Izzy thought about that. It was true, when the original eight DigiDestined met Davis, Yolei, and Cody their Digivices were much different and more efficient.

"So, do you use cards in battle, as well?" Izzy asked.

Yoshino shook her head. "No. Our power comes from our very own DNA."

"How does that work?" Tentomon chimed in.

"We're still trying to figure all that out," Lalamon said.

Yamaki still had his eye on Thomas, who was still remaining silent. "If I may ask, how did you get your Digivice. And how did you two end up meeting?" Izzy asked Yoshino.

She sighed, "My senior year of high school, while having an argument with my parents, I found a egg outside in my backyard. I thought it was from some type of animal, so I didn't touch it. Nobody believed me about finding it, especially not my sisters. After a couple of weeks of taking care of the egg, it hatched into Lalamon. I had NO idea what she was, where she came from, or how she got here. The only thing I was able to get out of her was that she was a Digital Monster from the Digital World. That's when I got my Digivice." She held her Digivice up to Izzy and Thomas.

"We've been together ever since. It became something with time, me learning how to use my Digivice and whatnot, but I didn't meet these guys until the end of my first year in college. Yamaki approached me, informing me of the Digital World and what exactly Digimon were. Hypnos were the people that told me that I was a new type of Tamer, and that I would be able to make a difference if I sided with them. Helping people was all I ever wanted to do so… I jumped at the chance," Yoshino finished.

Izzy was astonished. More and more people with partner Digimon were coming into existence. He had no idea that there was a WHOLE NEW breed of Tamers. They were just like how the newer DigiDestined were when they first discovered their Digivices and Digimon.

Yamaki kept his eye on Thomas, "Which is why I was highly surprised when Yoshino told me that you had a Digivice like hers. At first, I thought it was YOU who was our mole. But, then I got to thinking, the tale of the DigiDestined was that they are able to enter the Digital World at will, while Tamers have to literally struggle to find a way into the Digital World. And with you being a Tamer, there is no possible way for you to be sneaking Digimon in and out of our world."

"I barely know about the Digital World, myself," Thomas replied, still not sure about this whole thing.

"That's why we're here. To help you," Riley said to him.

Thomas looked from Yamaki, to Yoshino, to Talley, to Izzy, and finally, to Riley. He wasn't sure out of any of these people if he could trust any of them. Yamaki seemed like a shady fellow, himself, but Izzy and Yoshino both have partner Digimon of their own, so they knew what he was going through. Talley and Riley seemed harmless enough, and Riley was determined to prove that they were on the good side.

Thomas finally sighed and held up his Digivice. The device began glowing the same light that came from Yoshi's Digivice. Everyone in the room waited before the light died down and another Digimon was present among them.

It was a small blue dog/wolf humanoid Digimon who had a red scarf tied around his head and a pair of boxing gloves on his hands. The Digimon had an ever-present solemn expression on his face, making him look quite intimidating.

Izzy pulled out his computer, ready to get the inside scoop. "Gaomon, Rookie-level, beast data type. His main attack is Double Back Hand."

Gaomon didn't move a muscle, as if waiting for orders. "I've known Gaomon since I was a little boy. On my way home from school, when I was being chased by a couple of bullies that had had it out for me. Just when it looked like they were gonna catch me, I psyched them out by acting like I was going to fight them. That didn't work very well, seeing as how they gave me a black eye. Before they could beat me to a pulp, we were all surrounded by fog, and Gaomon appeared.

"He chased the bullies away, and has been with me ever since," Thomas finished as Gaomon looked up at him. "I wouldn't have it any other way, sir," Gaomon replied.

Yamaki was in deep thought. "Sounds like a Digital Field… and when Gaomon appeared, did your Digivice appear, as well?"

Thomas nodded his head. If one could see his eyes through his thick sunglasses, anybody could notice the troubled look in Yamaki's eyes. From the sound of it, Thomas had acquired his Digivice long before the original Tamers received theirs. But, how could that be if the original Tamers weren't even established yet?

Izzy on the other hand, had something to be even more excited about. "PRODIGIOUS! Are you guys telling me that you haven't met any of the other Tamers on campus?"

That caught Thomas by surprise. "Other Tamers? There are more people with Digimon?"

Talley nodded. "The same Tamers that helped us defeat the D-Reaper are also on this campus."

Yamaki then snapped back at Izzy, "Are you the only DigiDestined on this campus?"

"DigiDestined?" Thomas asked.

Yoshino shook her head. "We don't have that kind of time. Just know, if you work with us, you'll find out all you need to know about the Digital World."

"There are many of us here," Izzy began, answering Yamaki's question. "Four freshmen, one sophomore, two juniors including myself, three seniors, and one fifth-year grad student. Oh, and one transfer student from France is also an International DigiDestined."

Yoshino was highly surprised, to say the least. "Please tell me your not talking about Catherine."

"I'm afraid so," Izzy answered.

The redhead stood in shock. Her own roommate was a DigiDestined and she didn't even know it. She had a feeling that Yolei was a DigiDestined, and that feeling was confirmed when she saw the girl with the others at the season opener. Now, she realized that BOTH of her roommates were DigiDestined.

"We have many allies on our side," Yamaki noted. "Have either of you seen anybody suspicious around campus or any suspicious activity whatsoever?"

"I haven't seen anything," Izzy answered.

"Not to say that I've been LOOKING for anybody suspicious. I've been trying to keep my eye on her since I saw her Digivice at the seminar," Thomas said, referring to Yoshi.

Yamaki sighed hopelessly. "No luck. It appears we have MUCH to finish discussing, but it appears we're short for time. That'll be all," Yamaki said, dismissing Izzy and Thomas.

"Before you leave, I must ask a favor of the both of you. Nobody can know that I'm undercover and the same goes for Professors Onodera and Ootori as well as Yoshino. This must remain our little secret. Tell no one. Not even your friends and colleagues."

Izzy thought about that. This sort of information would come in handy. But he also recognized some of Yamaki's anxieties. The mole would be less likely to reveal himself or herself if they knew someone from the government was on campus searching.

"I'll keep your secret," Izzy finally said. "And so will Tentomon."

"We'll both keep it hush-hush," Tentomon added.

Yamaki turned to Thomas, obviously looking for a solid answer from the boy genius.

"You promise to tell me about the Digital World and these DigiDestined and what a Tamer is then we'll have a deal," the blonde professor said.

Yamaki smiled as he shook the boy's hand. "You got a deal on your hands."

And with that, Yamaki said, "We need nothing further. You can go."

Izzy cautiously grabbed Tentomon and walked out the door. Gaomon disappeared back into Thomas's Digivice as the boy gave one last look at Yamaki, a weary one at that. This whole situation had taken a very interesting turn to say the least. Izzy's junior year of college had gotten a lot more interesting.

* * *

Yoshino watched Izzy and Thomas walk out the door. The Hypnos crew was now by themselves. But, two people now knew their secret.

"I hope we did the right thing," Yamaki said.

Talley smiled. "I'm sure we did. You know, sir, those two could make a great addition to our team."

"What? You can't be serious," Riley said. "That Professor Norstein is going to need a lot more convincing. I have a feeling that he wasn't completely satisfied."

"He gave us his word that he wouldn't say anything in exchange for more information on what we know about the Digimon and the Digital World. Not bad of an exchange," Lalamon said.

"I mean it, guys. Izzy's far more intelligent than most of the agents we've been working with these past few years. He knows everything there is to know about the Digital World and in the short time I've worked with him, he's demonstrated exceptional skills. He'd be perfect! And Thomas, while he doesn't have the knowledge about the Digital World, he certainly is intelligent. He's only seventeen and a college professor! Those two combined would make a great addition to our team," Talley pressed further.

"Since when did you become a scout, Talley?" Yamaki asked curiously.

"Those are just some things I couldn't ignore," Talley answered. "Those two are really standout type of guys." Then she looked towards the distance to see Izzy turning the corner. "And that Izumi is pretty cute, too."

"Cute?" Riley repeated. "Talley, c'mon! He has to be around 21. You're getting into your late twenties. And he's your TA, for crying out loud!"

"Hey, I didn't say I wanted to date him," Talley said innocently. "I just noticed he was cute, that's all." Then she shrugged that off. "Hey, you're getting me off the topic! The point I'm trying to make is, him AND Norstein would be a good fit to be agents."

Yamaki sighed. "I'll think about it, but I'm not exactly head of recruiting, myself. We aren't here to find new agents, we're here to take down a mole. But I'll be sure to consider bringing it up."

"Thank you, sir."

Talley looked past the glass door one more time, but saw that Izzy and Thomas were both long gone. She really did think they would make good agents someday and could be valuable to the government. But, Izzy- a boyfriend? That was crazy talk.

At least that's what Talley would keep telling herself.

* * *

Seeing no one else was around and after seeing the damage done to the dragon statue, Kazu decided there was only one thing to do. So he headed over to Takato and Henry's room and knocked. He didn't stop knocking, even after he didn't get an answer.

"They're probably in class," Kenta pointed out.

Kazu looked around the hallway to see if the coast was clear. Once it was, he decided to call someone else.

"Terriermon, open up! It's us!"

It took a few seconds, but Terriermon turned the knob and opened the door with the aid of one of his long ears.

"You guys need something?"

Kazu pulled Kenta inside and quickly shut the door. This was to be a private conversation.

"Has Henry been here at all?" Kazu asked.

"Nope. He's been in class all day. What's up?"

"Those losers from Tamachi Tech trashed our dragon statue," Kazu said indignantly. "They had the NERVE to toilet paper the statue and mock our mascot."

That got someone's ears burning. "Huh? Mock me?"

Kenta thought about how to phrase it. "It's nothing personal to you, Guilmon. They were just mocking the mascot itself."

Guilmon didn't look any more comforted hearing that. Kazu decided to step in and make him feel better.

"Don't worry about it, Guilmon," Kazu grinned. "We're going to make sure they don't get away with it."

Kenta nodded ... and suddenly stopped. "What do you mean by that?"

"Kenta, this is a matter of school pride! It's an opportunity for us to defend the honor of Odaiba University! It's an opportunity for us to even the playing field! It's an opportunity for us to get the last laugh on the Tamachi Samurais!"

"It's an opportunity for you to make a name for yourselves," Terriermon cut in.

"That, too. And the best way for us to do all that … is to get back at Tamachi Tech with our SECOND PRANK!"

Terriermon sweatdropped. "Second prank? After how the first one blew up in our faces?"

"Come on, Terriermon," Kazu urged. "There's a reason we came to tell you about this. You were great the first time around. And we're going to need you to come with us."

"Huh? Where are we going?" Kenta asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Kazu replied. "We're going to hit them in their home turf. We're going to Tamachi Tech!"

Kenta's jaw dropped. "You can't be serious!"

"Kenta, I'm surprised you forgot. We had something like this planned for such an occasion. Remember? Prank 63-A?"

Kenta thought about that. "Hmm... I remember Prank 63-A. But isn't Prank 63-A just a little extreme? Technically, we could get arrested for Prank 63-A!"

"Correction: We could get arrested for Prank 63-A… _if_ we get caught," Kazu pointed out. "But, I don't intend for us to get caught. Come on, Kenta. You know we're more careful than that. We can pull this off easily. Don't tell me you're afraid."

"I'm not afraid of a prank. I love a good prank. I just wonder if this might be going a little far. And I'm wondering what'll happen if we do get caught."

"It's not going too far. They have it coming to them. And we don't have to worry about getting caught. Trust me. That's what we have Terriermon for."

"Huh?" Terriermon piped up. "Just what exactly will I be doing?"

"Kenta, fill Terriermon in on Prank 63-A."

Kenta bent down and Terriermon raised one of his long ears. Kenta whispered the whole twisted plan in the Digimon's ear while Guilmon looked on curiously. Kazu would have liked to tell him about it, too, but there was always the possibility that he could spill the beans to somebody. And this prank was meant to be a total surprise.

Terriermon snickered. "We're really gonna do that?"

"Can't wait to see the looks on their faces," Kazu grinned. "But, if we're gonna pull this off, it'll require some heavy lifting. We'll have to take Guardromon with us."

"But, it took us hours to get him in the apartment the first time!" Kenta whined. "We'll have to take him apart again!"

Kazu nodded. "So we'd better get started."

"Alright, I guess we'd better get a head start…"

"Kenta ..."

"Oops. I almost forgot. No more bad jokes when taking Guardromon apart. Got it."

There was still one more piece of business to take care of before going off to commit the big retaliation prank. They had to make sure Guilmon wouldn't tell anybody about this.

"Uh, Guilmon? Don't you have practice or something?" Kazu began.

"Not until later. Kazu, what are you guys gonna do?"

"It's a total surprise," Kazu replied. "But we need you to do us a huge favor and keep it a secret. Don't tell Takato, Henry, or any of your cheerleader friends."

Guilmon thought about it. "I don't know …"

"If you keep our secret, I'll bring you back a pizza."

"Ok!"

It was all that was really needed. It was as easy as offering a Scooby Snack to Scooby Doo. So with Guilmon's silence assured, it was time to go where no other sane Odaiba University student would go. And at the end of the day, Kazu and Kenta would make a huge name for themselves.

But first, they needed to go get Guardromon and stuff him in the van.

* * *

There was silence all over. It was highly appropriate, since this WAS a library, after all. Following the intense stress of class, this was the best place to get some studying done. TK heard that Catherine was in here somewhere and he didn't waste any time trying to find her.

TK walked through the first floor, his shoes squeaking on the floor. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Just as people began to stare at him, TK found who he was looking for. Catherine Dubois was sitting alone at a table with her nose buried in a textbook. TK took a seat right across from her.

"Hi," he whispered.

Catherine raised her head from the book. "_Bonjour_, TK. How did you know I was here?"

"Yolei told me you'd be here. I'm sorry I didn't get to take you to the game Friday night. I'm thinking maybe it was best you didn't see the race."

"Oh, yes, I heard what happened to your car. How dreadful."

"Eh, it's ok. I should have a new car by the end of the month."

Someone else took the seat next to TK. "Hi, Catherine."

A vein nearly popped out of TK's head. "**TAI**!"

TK was immediately greeted with a rounding chorus of shushes.

"TK, we're in a library," Tai whispered. Then he smiled at Catherine. "What happened to you on Friday, Catherine? I thought we'd be going to the game together. You didn't even see TK's car get blown away. LITERALLY."

"Yeah, Catherine. I thought you'd come see us," TK added.

"Gentlemen, I tried to tell you, but you wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise," Catherine explained. "I simply couldn't make it to the lot that night. I had to help out at the game."

Tai remained cheerful. "That's ok. We can always go out tonight."

Catherine shook her head. "Tai…"

"No way, Tai," TK argued. "She's going out with ME tonight. Right, Catherine?"

Catherine shook her head again. "TK…"

"No way, TK," Tai growled. "I asked her first."

"Too bad she wants to go out with me."

"Yeah, right. Like she'd go out with someone whose car is in a million pieces."

"Gentlemen, please," Catherine sighed. "Don't you two think this is getting a little out of hand?"

"What do you mean?" both TK and Tai asked.

"I feel like you two have been fighting over me," Catherine answered. "You're both very handsome young men and both of you are wonderful in your own right. But, please, don't fight over me. I'm nothing special. I'm just your average French girl."

"If you're the average French girl, then I envy the average French guy," Tai grinned.

"You're above and beyond the average Japanese girl," TK added.

"Be that as it may, you cannot keep fighting over me like this. Especially not now. I have a project worth 30% of my grade. I can't let myself get distracted."

"Beauty and brains," Tai nodded. "I love it!"

"But, then again, you two are very sweet," Catherine continued. "So I'll tell you what. We'll have a night out this Saturday. Not really a date, but more like good clean fun for the three of us."

"Three of us?" TK and Tai repeated.

"I'll see you two on Saturday," Catherine went on, ignoring TK and Tai's bewildered looks. "Until then, can you please let me study?"

TK and Tai sighed deeply. "Ok. See you Saturday."

They both got up and started walking out. But halfway out of the library, they suddenly noticed each other and grew irked.

"Who asked you to jump in?" TK demanded.

"I had this planned, TK," Tai shot back. "Nobody asked you to be here."

"You did not have this planned," TK argued. "And even if you did, if this is like any other plan you've ever had, it probably would have blown up in your face. You're making this a lot harder for me and Catherine. Why don't you just stay out?"

"Because she likes me better."

"Oh yeah? We'll see. I say we make our move on Saturday and see who she likes better."

"Sounds good. But let's make the stakes even higher. If she picks me, then you owe me your next paycheck. If she picks you, I'll pay for the repairs to your junk mobile."

"You're on!"

TK and Tai shook hands on this gentlemen's agreement. They were standing by the library door and noticed everyone was staring at them. Including a certain receptionist.

"Guys, I'm glad you two are shaking hands and everything," Jeri muttered dryly. "But, can you take it outside? You're in a library."

TK and Tai sweatdropped and stepped outside the door. At least there were plenty of witnesses to this agreement.

* * *

Takuya's class was just about finished. While his math class went very slowly, he couldn't say that Dr. Marquez didn't make it challenging. He never had a math class where he actually WANTED to think.

The hour was coming to a close, so Dr. Marquez began to wrap up her lecture.

"Much like anything else in real life, Calculus is something that can only be mastered through experience. It's with that in mind that I'd like to assign your essay."

Takuya's eyes widened. A written essay in a math class was unheard of. He looked over and saw Kari had the same look on her face. They weren't expecting a written essay in this class.

"I want you all to write a six-page essay on the methods of integration and how you can apply them to real-life situations. It's something I'm sure you can all do. I know you're all smart students."

She made sure to look at Kari when she uttered that last line, something that didn't go unnoticed by Takuya, who slammed his head down at the thought of a six-page essay. Kari, however, knew she could do this one simple assignment. It didn't sound that hard. To her, anyway.

"One more thing," Dr. Marquez continued. "This essay will be worth 20% of your grade. I'm sure that won't be a problem for any of you."

A collective gasp filled the classroom, including Takuya. That didn't look to sit too well with anybody. Kari was relatively calm about it, though. It wouldn't be too hard for her. All she had to do was remember not to forget it.

"And your essay is due this Monday."

That announcement didn't make Takuya feel any better. Kari remained calm about it.

She knew she could do it. All she had to do was remember to start on it soon.

* * *

It was a long, arduous day, but an evil Digimon's work was never done. That didn't please Puppetmon, who always preferred to play. But Datamon was the intense, focused one of the group and he had been at work all day, trying to make something of the recent discoveries made.

"This is boring," Puppetmon complained. "Can we smash something?"

"Stop being so impatient!" Datamon snapped. "Once I finish, we'll be doing a lot of smashing! But we won't accomplish anything if we don't see what we're up against. But, for that, we'd need our Digimon Empress here."

"Did somebody call me?"

The Digimon Empress stood at the entrance of the lair. Puppetmon didn't understand exactly what was going on, but he was always a Digimon of action, anyway.

"It's about time you got here," Datamon growled. "I've been hard at work examining that Digimon that foiled us at the season opener."

Datamon pressed a button and an image appeared on the big screen of his supercomputer. It was a huge Digimon with a cape, armor, and lance. It was the same Digimon the Empress said came to the aid of the others.

"I feel as if you've made an error," Datamon began. "You reported that this one had two voices, and one of them sounded like the Tamer, himself. That must have been because the Tamer was standing at a distance."

"It wasn't an error!" The Digimon Empress protested. "The voice I heard belonged to the Tamer called Takato! It was as if he was a part of Gallantmon! I had never seen anything like it! Not only that, but the brute was extremely powerful. It made short work of SuperStarmon."

"I knew those Tamers would be trouble," Datamon muttered.

"So what?" Puppetmon scoffed. "I could probably pound him into a tin can."

"Don't be foolish, Puppetmon," Datamon warned. "We cannot afford to take chances in this war. We made a bargain and we must make sure to live up to it. And in order to live up to our end of the bargain, we need to know what we're up against."

Datamon reached for a button, but before he could, he was interrupted by a Numemon with a Black Gear on his head.

"Datamon, there's something you need to know."

"Can't you see we're busy?" Datamon demanded. "What is it?"

"We went on our usual rounds and found six Digimon snooping around the Continent of Flame," the Numemon said. "We recognized two of them as Agumon and Gabumon. They were in the vicinity of the Flame Terminal."

"Somebody's onto us," The Digimon Empress sneered.

"I don't like bad news!" Puppetmon whined. He pulled out his hammer. "**Puppet Pummel**!"

The Numemon became another victim of what was quickly becoming a daily tantrum for Puppetmon. The Numemon faded in a flurry of digital bits. Datamon slapped his domed forehead.

"How many times do I have to tell you to STOP OBLITERATING OUR SERVANTS? We've lost countless Black Gears because of your shenanigans!"

"You two can argue later," The Digimon Empress cut in. "But, let's consider what the Numemon told us. We have unwanted guests snooping around. I think we should give them a welcoming committee."

"Who do you have in mind?" Datamon asked.

The Digimon Empress smirked as she looked over at the Digimon present in the base. She whistled to call one of them over. And the one she called was a massive one.

"I'm proud of this one," The Digimon Empress said. "I just picked this one up the other day. Meet MetalTyrannomon!"

Puppetmon and Datamon looked over in amazement at the cyborg Ultimate-level MetalTyrannomon, a form much more dangerous than his other counterparts. This one was completely metallic and very destructive. And with the Black Gear on the back of his neck, he was completely willing to do the bidding of the unholy trio.

"Go down to the Flame Terminal and welcome our visitors," The Digimon Empress ordered. "Give them a welcome they'll never forget!"

MetalTyrannomon let out a fierce roar and started stomping out of the base, creating small tremors as he went. The equipment was literally shaking with every step he took.

"That should take care of our guests," The Digimon Empress muttered.

Datamon was still examining the image of Gallantmon on the screen. "This one could be trouble. There must be SOMETHING we can do to neutralize him."

"I say it's time to put the Black Gears to a whole new use," The Digimon Empress suggested.

"We use them to make Digimon do what we want," Puppetmon pointed out. "You're saying there's a BETTER use?"

The Digimon Empress smirked. She obviously had something in mind.

"You bet there is. We use them to do what the old Digimon Emperor once did. I suggest…"

* * *

Once she got back to her apartment, Kari sat down with her Calculus book. She wanted to get this essay out of the way as soon as possible and with Zoë at the library, Rika having a meeting, and Jeri being out … somewhere, there was not a better time. So she opened up her book, but...

"Threes?"

"Go Fish."

Kari looked towards her the living room to see that there was a game of Go Fish going on between Gatomon and Renamon, another in a long series of competitions those two were having against each other. Renamon sighed and reached for another card.

"Nines?"

Renamon snarled and laid down a nine. Gatomon laid down her last two cards.

"And that makes a pair. I win."

"You got lucky! Best two out of three!"

"You got it, Foxy."

"DON'T call me FOXY!"

Kari sweatdropped. "Do you two mind? I'm trying to start my homework."

"Sorry, Kari," Gatomon apologized. Then, she got an idea. "Ok, Renamon, new game. Something more to your tastes." Gatomon walked over to the refrigerator and grabbed an apple. She gently placed it on top of her head. "Calumon? I think you know what to do?"

Calumon blinked. "Gatomon, are you sure you want to play that game?"

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing."

Kari watched as Calumon walked over to the closet and pulled out a wooden arrow. Kari shrugged off the thought that they'd be playing 'William Tell'. That couldn't possibly be it.

"Ok, Renamon. Try and pick the apple off my head."

"I fail to see the point of this exhibition, cat," Renamon said. "If I pick the apple off your head, I show I'm clearly a better marksman. If I miss, I make a kitty-kabob. Either way, it's a win-win situation. What's your stake in this?"

"Renamon, you wouldn't hit me," Gatomon smirked. "I'd be too fast. I'd never _let_ it hit me. Besides, did you think I wouldn't make the stakes a little higher?"

"What do you mean?"

"If you pick the arrow off my head, then I agree to do ANYTHING you want."

Renamon raised an eyebrow. "Anything?"

"Anything! BUT … if you miss, then you'll be cleaning out my litter box for the rest of the school year."

"Ugh, that's degrading! Not to mention unsanitary!"

"Ooh, what's the matter, Renamon? Afraid you might miss?"

Renamon responded by snatching the arrow from Calumon. Gatomon confidently stood straight with the apple sitting atop her head. Renamon prepared to toss the arrow, javelin-style. After carefully aiming the arrow, she tossed it straight ahead. It looked to be a perfect shot.

But, the arrow didn't even make it to its target. A fireball suddenly intercepted it and left the arrow nothing more than smoldering ash. Kari wondered how such a thing could happen, but then she looked under the couch and found her answer. It was Impmon.

"Aw, too bad," Gatomon mocked. "Looks like you missed."

"T-That's unfair!" Renamon cried. "That was a perfect throw! I demand a do-over!"

"Sorry, Renamon. The deal was that you had to hit the apple. Nobody said there couldn't be something like a wayward fireball flying around."

Renamon snarled. "You tricked me, cat!"

"Maybe so, but I still have myself a new litter box cleaner. And Renamon? Get every chunk, will you?"

Renamon walked over to the couch and pulled Impmon out by the ear. "You're supposed to be on MY side! Why are you helping HER?"

"Sorry, toots, but I ain't on anybody's side," Impmon corrected. "To me, it's just a matter of who's got more to offer." He walked over to Gatomon and held out his hand. "Ok, let me have 'em."

Gatomon sighed and walked over to the closet. The feline Digimon dug through the closet, tossing out towels and rags as she went along, until she found a box and brought it to Impmon.

"There! A box of twine balls. There are at least a dozen of them."

Impmon chuckled. "All right! Target practice!"

"Y-Y-You sold me out for TWINE BALLS?" Renamon stuttered.

"Hey, if I can't roast humans, then I gotta roast something. And nothing burns faster than twine."

Renamon stared coldly at Gatomon. "Ok, Gatomon. I'll live up to my end of the bargain. But I'll get you for this someday."

Gatomon just casually shrugged that threat off. She was being awfully carefree about this whole thing. A lot had changed about Gatomon since the day Kari first met her. She remembered when Gatomon used to be a tortured soul, reflecting on the days when she was nothing more than the pawn of Myotismon. Since breaking away from him, Gatomon had learned to enjoy herself a lot more.

And maybe Gatomon wouldn't admit it, but since living with Renamon, she seemed to have a lot more fun. It was like the two were developing a friendship. But, of course, Kari wasn't about to bring that up to either of them.

Kari looked out the window and noticed the sun had already set. It was already 8:00 PM and she still hadn't gotten started. No longer feeling focused, Kari decided to put it off for a night. She closed her Calculus book.

"I'll start tomorrow."

* * *

Night was starting to fall in the Digital World. It was the best time to investigate what the Poyomon had seen out there. Led by Agumon, the faithful squad of six Digimon trekked to the scene of where the Cherrymon had last been seen.

Once they got out there, they found only emptiness. Not a Digimon was stirring that night. That was a good thing, because maybe they could find some clues as to who was tossing Black Gears around.

"Do you guys see anything?" Agumon asked.

"Hey, I found something!" Neemon called out.

The other five rushed over to their friend to see what he had found.

"What did you find?" Gabumon asked.

"A fresh bunch of bananas," Neemon answered as he held up several golden fruits. "You don't see many bananas this fresh."

"Ooh, will PLEASE focus on the mission!" Bokomon exasperated before snapping Neemon's pants, making the yellow Digimon's eyes become wide with pain.

"Well, I did see an empty box over there," Armadillomon pointed over towards a ditch that led to the sewers, where a was box tipped over sideways. The six Digimon wandered over to investigate, but the contents of the box were empty.

"Who carries a box out here in the middle of nowhere?" Gabumon wondered.

"Probably our target," Agumon answered.

"This could just be a coincidence," Hawkmon thought. "Do you think we're making any progress?"

After Hawkmon asked that question, the ground started to shake. The leaves on the trees were rustling and falling with each small tremor. The six Digimon were stuck in their tracks. Then, they slowly turned their heads to see that something BIG was coming their way.

"Uh … Agumon?" Gabumon began. "Did that Gazimon tell you that the Digimon he saw with the human was huge and metallic?"

Agumon nodded. "Uh-huh. A lot like ..."

The Digimon stomped towards them and greeted them all with a roar.

The six Digimon panicked. "**METALTYRANNOMON**!"

* * *

The van, now settled in park, was filled with would-be pranksters. Kazu sat in the driver's seat, Kenta was in the front passenger's seat, MarineAngemon was in Kenta's pocket, Terriermon was in the backseat, and Guardromon was in the trunk. They were on a journey to avenge their school.

"Are we ready?" Kazu asked.

"I'm ready," Terriermon answered excitedly. "Let's do it!"

Kenta sighed. "MarineAngemon, how did I get myself into this?"

MarineAngemon shrugged. Kenta always stuck with Kazu, no matter how bizarre the circumstance, and being Kenta's partner, that meant MarineAngemon was always finding himself in the middle of these plots … for better or worse.

"Ok, then let's do it!" Kazu smirked. "Prank 63-A is underway! Let's go!"

There seemed to be no other precautions to take. Kazu and Kenta stepped out of the car and Terriermon came out right behind them. Kazu opened the back door and let Guardromon step out. He would be the muscle required for this job.

Now that they were all together, they headed down the parking lot ... towards Tamachi Technical University!


	17. Thieves

Snooping around a strange campus wasn't an easy task, especially this late at night. But, Kazu and Kenta were blending in well, MarineAngemon managed to stay hidden in Kenta's pocket, and Guardromon and Terriermon froze in their tracks and pretended to be statues whenever anyone came close. This secret mission was going well and it wouldn't be long before Kazu and Kenta exacted a prankster's revenge on behalf of Odaiba University.

Then, they reached their destination. They made it to Tamachi Tech University's gymnasium. Luckily for them, none of the students were walking around the gymnasium that night and the school's basketball team had just finished practicing for the night. It didn't take the would-be pranksters long to find exactly what they were looking for.

Right by the trophy case, was the large golden statue of the Tamachi Samurai. It was a gold statue of a large samurai, covered in traditional Japanese armor and helmet and holding a sword victoriously in the air.

"Prank 63-A," Kazu began. "Take the rival school's most beloved symbol. So before the big game, we swipe the one symbol that the Tamachi Samurais have the most pride in: the Tamachi Samurai statue. They stripped our school of our dignity, so we'll go ahead and strip them of theirs. Guardromon, you know what to do."

Guardromon walked over and wrapped his arms around the statue in a bear hug, gripping it tightly. With tremendous strength, he picked the statue off the ground and then held it over his head, awaiting further instructions.

"And with that, we're ready to carry it out."

"Kazu, don't you think we'd stand out just a bit with a huge robot holding up the Samurai statue?" Kenta pointed out.

"That's a good point," Kazu muttered. "I don't think we'd be able to hide that thing until we get to the van."

MarineAngemon's head suddenly popped out of Kenta's pocket. "Terriermon!"

Kazu looked around. "Hey! He's not a Digimon of many words, but he makes a good point. Where's Terriermon?"

****BEEP****

Kazu and Kenta turned around and saw a cart heading their way at full speed. Of course, since it was a cart, that wasn't very fast. Terriermon was in the driver's seat, honking the cart's horn with his left ear as he went. He brought the cart to a halt right in front of Guardromon.

"I found this by the storage bin," Terriermon grinned. "Some moron left the key in the ignition. We can take this back to the van."

"That still doesn't solve our problem," Kenta noted. "Don't you think the statue AND Guardromon might be a little too heavy for this cart?"

"Ok, then I'll have to go with a Plan B," Kazu muttered. He took out his D-Power and a card. With no one watching, he swiped the card through the Digivice. "Digi-Modify! Hyperspeed activate!" Before Guardromon dashed off, Kazu made sure to issue some instructions. "Get this thing straight to the van. Don't let anything get in your way and DON'T smash into any people!"

"Don't smash into any people and don't let anything get in my way," Guardromon repeated. "You got it, Kazu!"

After receiving those instructions, Guardromon speeded off like a blur. Unfortunately, everyone began to hear loud crashes.

"I'm afraid to ask, but what is that?" Kenta asked.

"Hop on and let's find out," Terriermon said.

Kazu and Kenta got on the cart and Terriermon drove it out of the gymnasium. It didn't take them long to find the source of the sounds. Several walls were smashed through and there was a distinct path of destruction leading all the way to the parking lot. Kazu didn't even want to think about it, but he knew exactly what it was.

Kazu gulped. "This looks bad."

It started to get worse when Tamachi University students started coming out of their dorms to see what was going on. TTU Public Safety would be sure to follow. They were about to get caught.

Terriermon inched an ear towards the gas pedal. "Alright, we're busting out of here!"

Terriermon stepped on the gas and the cart was heading off at full speed ... which wasn't very fast. But, it was fast enough for the cart to drive through all the holes in the walls and all the way to the parking lot before too many people arrived. But, Terriermon wasn't really that experienced of a driver, so the ride was bumpy to say the least.

The cart drove through the holes in the wall and off the sidewalk onto the driveway, a bump so hard that MarineAngemon nearly bounced out of Kenta's pocket. Terriermon didn't exactly take the speed bumps slowly, either. And when they finally reached the parking lot, the cart didn't come to a slow stop. It came to an abrupt halt when it plowed into a tree.

"Nice one, Terriermon," Kazu groaned. He crawled out of the cart and walked over to Guardromon, who was stationed by the van. "And I'm afraid to ask, but what's with all that destruction out there?"

"You said to get the statue here and not let anything get in my way," Guardromon explained. "So I didn't let a little thing like walls stop me."

Kazu slapped his forehead. It was yet another mixed-up message that resulted in a huge gaffe. Instead of this being completely inconspicuous, the students were filing out and Public Safety was more than likely on their way.

"Let's get out of here. Guardromon, put the statue on top of the van. Terriermon and MarineAngemon, tie it up."

Kenta reached into the back of the van and grabbed a pair of strong ropes. Terriermon and MarineAngemon each started to tie the statue to the van to make sure it didn't fall out on the way back to Odaiba University. Time was running short, because there were dozens of students stampeding towards the parking lot.

"Uh, that's good enough!" Kazu cried. "Everyone in the van!"

Guardromon took his place in the back and everyone else filed into their usual spots. Kazu fumbled with the key before placing it in the ignition and starting the van. With a clear path ahead of him, Kazu floored it, sending the van straight out of hostile territory. But as they reached the border of Tamachi Technical University and the rest of the world, Kazu and Kenta stuck their heads out of the van windows and shouted back to the crowd.

"ODAIBA U RULES!"

It was the only calling card anybody really needed. And with this prank in the books, Kazu felt a deep sense of satisfaction. The honor of his school had been avenged and Kazu felt like nothing could go wrong. But then Kenta had to go and open his mouth.

"Uh … Kazu?"

"Yeah, Kenta?"

"Where are we gonna stash this thing when we get back?"

Kazu sweatdropped as he stopped at a red light. That was something he hadn't thought about. There was nothing more conspicuous than a large golden samurai statue on top of a van. What would he do with it?

"Uh …"

**SILENCE**.

Kazu was fresh out of ideas. But, someone else's mind was running a mile a minute. A light bulb had appeared over Terriermon's head.

"I know what to do! Just leave it to me!"

Kazu didn't know what Terriermon had in mind and neither did anyone else in the van. But there was a prankster's brain inside the long-eared Digimon's skull. Kazu was more than willing to trust that … especially since he had no ideas of his own.

* * *

Agumon found himself looking forward at a raging beast known as MetalTyrannomon. He didn't forget that the Gazimon told him about a metal beast that walked off with the human and this metal beast fit that description perfectly. And now the metallic brute was staring right at the six rookie Digimon on the ground.

"What do you think he wants?" Armadillomon asked.

MetalTyrannomon aimed for the six Digimon. "**Fire Blast II**!"

The rookie Digimon ran to avoid the fireball that engulfed several trees in flames.

"Does THAT answer your question?" Hawkmon cried.

MetalTyrannomon slowly stalked his prey, the six rookie Digimon. They knew that these attacks could potentially cause a gargantuan forest fire. But this looked to be a total mismatch on paper.

"How do we stop him?" Bokomon asked. "Me and Neemon aren't able to Digivolve, and you guys can't do it without your partners!"

"We don't need to stop him!" Gabumon pointed out. "We just have to take out the Black Gear, wherever it is!"

It didn't take long for Agumon to spot the Black Gear. It was on the back of the metal beast's neck. If Agumon had the proper diversion, he could take it out. But, it looked like MetalTyrannomon had a one-track mind. He was bent on destruction. Trying to do something, Hawkmon and Armadillomon attacked.

"**Feather Strike**!"

"**Diamond Shell**!"

While it was a valiant effort, the attacks only bounced off the cyborg, Ultimate-level MetalTyrannomon. No rookie Digimon would get the job done on this night. They would need a plan and Agumon had one.

"Can you guys distract him for us?" Agumon asked.

Armadillomon gulped. "We'll give it our best shot."

Trying to avoid getting stepped on, Hawkmon, Bokomon, Armadillomon, and Neemon headed for a tree while Agumon and Gabumon ran in another direction. MetalTyrannomon paused and looked around, thinking about which of them he should chase. Hawkmon and Bokomon made his decision easier by tossing rocks at his head. MetalTyrannomon chased after the other four, who had climbed up a tree and were waiting for him to come their way.

The tree was a couple of inches taller than MetalTyrannomon, but Hawkmon, Bokomon, Armadillomon, and Neemon were well within striking distance. However, they all looked to be ready. Neemon was still holding those bananas he had found. When MetalTyrannomon got close enough, they all launched a banana barrage.

"Have a banana split!" Armadillomon shouted.

Squeezing the bananas from the bottom, they squirted out like yellow missiles. They each found their mark right in MetalTyrannomon's eyes, momentarily blurring his vision. If there was ever a time for Agumon to strike, it was now.

"Gabumon! Alley oop!"

Gabumon put his hands in front of him while Agumon gave himself enough running room. The rookie dinosaur dashed forward and jumped into Gabumon's hands, who boosted him into the air. Agumon landed on MetalTyrannomon's back, where he had a wide-open shot.

"**Pepper Breath**!"

Agumon's Pepper Breath attack went towards MetalTyrannomon's neck, just as he had hoped. It was a direct hit. The Black Gear dissolved into digital data. No longer under evil influence, MetalTyrannomon stopped his rampage and shook off the cobwebs.

Agumon was shrugged off and he fell to the ground. When he raised his head, MetalTyrannomon wandered off alone without even saying anything.

"Hey, wait!" Agumon called out. "We need to ask you some questions!"

MetalTyrannomon didn't listen. He just walked away, which was unfortunate because he could have told them who the human was that tossed that Black Gear in the first place.

"Well, we're back where we started," Gabumon sighed. "Now what?"

"We go back to the Flame Terminal for the night," Agumon answered. "And tomorrow, we come back and see if we find any more clues."

"I just wonder why we didn't use this?" Armadillomon thought. He held up the DigiCore that Gennai had given them.

"We want to use that as an absolute last resort," Agumon replied. "We'll use it if we run into any more trouble."

While the strange box remained unopened, it still emitted a bright glow from within, desperately trying to get out. It may come in handy and would have been useful against MetalTyrannomon, but Agumon had a hunch that this wouldn't be the last threat they encountered.

There would be more threats to come. Agumon just wished they had more clues to go with those threats.

* * *

The next day wouldn't pass fast enough. Davis kept an eye on his watch since the lecture was going slow. Finally, the professor dismissed them. Davis rushed out of the classroom. He was the first one out, but he didn't get far, because he ran into another one of his professors.

"Hello, Davis."

"Oh, hey, Professor Yamaki!"

"Davis, you rushed out of my classroom so fast that I didn't get a chance to ask you about your short story."

"My short story? Is something wrong with it?"

"Oh no, on the contrary, it's quite fascinating. I especially liked the part about the little blue reptile, the little green worm, and the flying pig."

Davis sweatdropped. "Oh… I was just… going with whatever popped into my head."

"You've got quite an active imagination, Davis. I'll be keeping my eye on your work. This is good stuff."

"Oh… uh… thanks a lot, sir."

After getting that brief exchange out of the way, Davis kept on going. He couldn't wait to get back to his room after a long day of class.

It was just another normal day at Odaiba University. Nothing unusual happened after the scene yesterday involving the random act by some of the Tamachi Tech students. Things were relatively quiet. The only thing different was that there was some tall structure by the dorm building that was covered in a black tarp. It also had a sign that said 'Wet Paint'.

Yes, things were normal and Davis could only hope things would stay that way as he walked into the freshman dorm building. He made his way through the hall and was about to go off to his room, but he made a quick pit stop at Takato and Henry's room. Davis knocked and waited for an answer. Henry opened the door and Davis noticed Takato sitting on the couch, covering his nose.

"Can't take any chances around you, Davis," Takato muttered.

Davis was about to say something, but noticed something. "Where's Guilmon?"

"He's practicing," Terriermon answered. "Being a mascot for Friday's big game is a huge thing. They've got 'Gil' practicing around the clock."

"It's a wonder he hasn't been caught yet," Takato groaned. "I'm just glad everything's gone as well as it has."

Henry shrugged. "It sure doesn't LOOK like anything can go wrong."

"Henry, let me tell you something from personal experience," Davis cut in. "If you say something like 'nothing could possibly go wrong', then something WILL go wrong."

As if on cue, someone urgently knocked on the door.

"See what I mean?"

"Davis, what are the odds that this is something bad?" Henry asked skeptically.

Henry opened the door and found Takuya with a hysterical cheerleader. Both of them had worried looks on their faces and Takuya was holding a slip of paper.

"Guys! Something's happened to Guil- uh… Gil!" Takuya cried.

"Something happened? Something like what?"

"Its just so awful," the cheerleader added, nearly in tears.

Looking at Takuya more seriously, Takato asked, "What is it?"

Takuya handed Henry the note as everyone gathered around it, except for Terriermon who was frozen in the stuffed animal position.

Henry read the note:

"_We know it was you guys who stole the Tamachi Samurai statue. So to get even, we've taken your mascot! He's safe FOR NOW, but you won't see him again until you give back what belongs to us and that's the Tamachi Samurai statue! You have until before Friday's game to return the statue! _

_Tamachi Samurais _

_P.S. Tamachi Tech rules_."

"You mean they've kidnapped Guil- uh… Gil?" Davis asked.

"When he didn't show up for practice, I knew something was up," Takuya started, then he looked over at his cheerleader companion. "And Tamika here was the one who found this note."

"I looked everywhere but I only found that note," the cheerleader answered. "I'm so worried! I wonder what they're doing to poor Gil!"

"But what are they talking about?" Takato wondered. "What do they mean when they say we have the Tamachi Samurai statue?"

An 'EEP' came from the corner of the room. Everyone turned to look at the corner and only saw Terriermon standing still. Davis looked a little closer to see that there was a sweatdrop on his temple. He was nervous about something.

"We'll... try and make some sense out of this," Henry told the cheerleader. "I'm sure Guil- uh… Gil is just fine and I know he'll be ok. I mean, what could possibly happen to him?"

"Do you really think he'll be ok?" Tamika asked worriedly.

"I know he'll be just fine," Henry said comfortingly. "We'll be in touch. In the meantime, you two should head back to practice. Can't be too prepared for Friday's game."

Takuya gave Henry a stern look, the two of them talking with their eyes. Takuya was just as worried about Guilmon as everybody else, but he didn't want to give anything away. So he nodded his head and said, "You guys BETTER let me know when you find anything out."

"Don't worry, we will," Henry said before shutting the door practically in their faces. When the coast was clear, he walked over to Terriermon, who was starting to sweat nervously. He was obviously hiding something.

"Terriermon! Do you know anything about this?"

"Henry, where do you get these _wacky ideas_?" Terriermon asked innocently. "What makes you think that *I* would know anything about this?"

"Maybe it's because you suddenly disappeared yesterday and didn't come back until the middle of the night," Henry pointed out.

"I was just... taking... a walk."

"A walk where?"

"Uh… um… you know… walking."

"If you don't tell me the truth, I'll send you back home and you can stay with Lopmon and Suzie!"

"NO! Not that! Ok, I'll talk! We went to Tamachi Tech last night and took the statue! We were gonna give it back after Friday's game! We just wanted to get back at them for what they did yesterday!"

"Terriermon, who's 'we'?" Takato asked.

With impeccable timing, someone knocked on the door. Davis turned the knob and pulled the door open, revealing the two probable culprits: Kazu and Kenta.

"Hey, guys," Kazu grinned. "How's it hanging?"

Takato knew exactly what to say. "You guys stole a STATUE?"

Kazu frowned. "Jeez, thanks a lot, Terriermon. Didn't take much to get you to crack."

"We didn't 'steal' the statue," Kenta said innocently. "We just … borrowed it … until after Friday's game."

"No better way to send a message," Kazu added. "Don't mess with Odaiba U!"

The two exchanged a high five. They were awfully proud of themselves. But that's when Henry held up the note.

"Uh ... I think they retaliated."

Kazu took the note and started reading it while Kenta looked over his shoulder. When Kazu finished reading it, he stood frozen while Kenta looked around the room.

"Hmm … I knew something was missing," Kenta muttered.

"I think that tops anything we've done," Kazu added. "Too bad. I really thought we'd come out on top on this one. So, Kenta … ANYMORE bright ideas?"

"Huh? This was YOUR idea!"

"Do we have to throw around blame? Kenta, that's so childish."

"I don't care WHOSE idea this was!" Takato shouted. "But you guys are gonna give back that statue and get Guilmon back!"

"I think you guys took things a bit too far," Henry said, in a tone calmer than his friend's. "Stealing a school's STATUE? What's the matter with you? And where did you guys find a place to hide something that big, anyway?"

Kazu shook his head. "No clue. Terriermon, what'd you do with the statue?"

Terriermon walked over to the window and jumped out. "Follow me."

Davis felt like a spectator in this whole argument. Everyone followed out the window and Davis just shrugged and followed along. Terriermon led them to the big structure that was covered in the black tarp. Terriermon removed the 'Wet Paint' sign and the black tarp to reveal a giant golden statue. The image of the warrior in armor holding a sword triumphantly in the air meant that this was the Tamachi Samurai statue.

"How did you guys get it all the way out here?" Davis asked.

"That's the awesome thing about having Guardromon around," Kazu said proudly. "He carried that thing like it was a marshmallow."

"That's all fine and dandy, Kazu, but you guys have to give it back," Henry said. "The school's really gonna want Guilmon for Friday's game and there are already people worried about him, like his cheerleader friend. And what if someone tries to take off his 'costume'? Do you guys have any idea what could happen?"

"I'm still on the part about Guilmon's cheerleader friend," Kenta replied.

"Yeah, I can't believe Guilmon could land a cheerleader and Henry's still by himself," Kazu added. "So much for Shinjuku High's Most Eligible Bachelor."

Henry groaned. "Guys, that's not the ... hey, what do you mean by that? I could get a cheerleader if I wanted to."

"Can we discuss that later?" Takato growled. He angrily turned to Kazu and Kenta. "Give them the statue and get Guilmon back!"

"But, that means we'll have to take Guardromon apart again," Kazu whined.

"**DO IT!**" Takato snapped.

Kazu and Kenta, with their heads hanging down, headed back to the dorms, undoubtedly going to retrieve Guardromon. Terriermon waved with his right ear.

"Good luck, guys!"

"You're going, too," Henry said dryly.

"Huh? Why me?"

"Because you were just as big a part of this as they were. Now march!"

"Aw, Henry..."

"You want to spend the rest of the year with Lopmon?"

"Ok, ok, I'm going!"

Terriermon slowly pouted his way towards Kazu's van. Davis felt like he was watching part of a loving, bickering family.

"Henry, what if they DO try to take the mascot's costume off?" Takato asked worriedly.

"They won't find much, that's for sure," Davis answered.

"That's just it!" Takato snapped at the mere thought. "That's the whole problem! I don't WANT them to find out that he's a Digimon!"

This was a potentially dangerous situation. With the recent outbreak of menacing Digimon, this whole thing could turn sour really quick if Guilmon was discovered.

It was up to Kazu and Kenta to make things right again.

* * *

After getting through another day of classes, Zoë had found that when she got back to her apartment, it was completely empty (no humans, anyway) and she had the place all to herself. So that gave her ample time to do some Psychology homework that Professor Norstein had assigned that day.

Once she was done with that, she walked into the kitchen, where Renamon grudgingly cleaned up Gatomon's litter box, who was more than likely taking a catnap back in Kari's room. Calumon was sitting at the edge of the couch watching cartoons with Impmon.

The blonde took one look in the fridge and found some frozen beef. She decided to go ahead and take the initiative to make some dinner for her and her roommates. Nothing like a good meal when they get home to eat on. Despite Rika's constant sour attitude, even Zoë had to admit that Rika was beginning to grow on her.

Placing the meat in the sink, she turned on the water, unfreezing it. She walked over to the radio on the counter, putting in one of her favorite CD's.

_Easy come, easy go _

_That's just how you live _

_Oh, take, take, take it all _

_But you never give _

Smiling, she began singing along as she prepared her meal. Impmon frowned, annoyed that she interrupted his TV watching. He hopped up off the couch and marched back towards Rika's room, leaving Calumon.

What Zoë didn't hear, however, was someone knocking on the door. Calumon did, though, but he was a little apprehensive about going to see who it was. The blonde just continued singing.

_Should've known you was trouble_

_From the first kiss_

_Had your eyes wide open_

_Why were they open? _

At this point, it was painstakingly obvious Zoë was too immersed in what she was doing. The person at the door knocked again, and Calumon for some reason thought it had to be important. His large ears expanded, and the little Digimon floated towards the door, uneasily, of course.

Zoë didn't notice any of this. She was far too caught up in her cooking and her music.

_Gave you all I had_

_And you tossed it in the trash_

_You tossed it in the trash, you did_

_To give me all your love_

_Is all I ever asked_

_Cause, what you don't understand is_

Looking through the peephole, Calumon saw that it was none other than his old friend Ryo Akiyama. All of his worries gone, he happily flew down to the doorknob, trying his best to turn it with his little fingers.

Ryo apparently caught the memo, so he just opened the door himself. Calumon cried his name, but the music had gotten so loud that the two of them couldn't even hear each other.

The Digimon covered his ears in pain, and pointed towards the kitchen. Confused, Ryo walked towards the tunes.

_I'll catch a grenade for ya_

_Throw my hand on a blade for ya_

_I'll jump in front of a train for ya _

_You know I'd do anything for ya _

Zoë had broken out into dance, taking out pots and opening her meat package. She hadn't even noticed Ryo standing in the entrance of the kitchen, a smirk on his face as he watched the girl dance, cook, and sing.

Calumon flew over to them and perched himself on Ryo's shoulder. The two of them watched as Zoë animatedly did her dance. But, when she walked over to the fridge with a pot of water, she saw them, and in surprise, spilt some of its contents.

She covered her mouth with her hand, gasping in surprise at the sight of Ryo. "Oh, my goodness! Calumon, what are you doing letting people in?"

"You seemed to be a little busy," Ryo quipped, "I guess I came at a bad time. Is Rika around?"

"Oh ... I think she went somewhere off campus. I'm sorry you missed her."

"It's ok. I guess I can always catch her some other time."

"Wait! Don't leave! I'd hate to think you came all the way out here for nothing. I'm making some burgers, you should wait."

Ryo stepped in and looked around. He waved as soon as he saw Renamon. "Haven't seen you around." He looked a little closer. "Are you-?"

"Don't ask," Renamon snarled.

Ryo shrugged as he leaned on the wall. Calumon flew off his shoulder and back into the living room. Zoë turned off the radio and leaned on the wall opposite to Ryo, where the two were looking at each other face-to-face.

"I heard about you," Zoë began. "Ken mentioned you a few times. When I heard Rika talk about you, I really didn't think it was the same guy. Ken said you were lost in the Digital World."

"I was for a long time," Ryo explained. "I was lost after engaging in a fierce battle with an evil Digimon known as Millenniumon. After he was beaten, there was no way for me to get home. But, I found my way back home when I met the other Tamers. I'm sure Rika's told you about our adventures there?"

"She mentioned a lot about you," Zoë giggled. "Well … she never actually mentioned your name, but she talked a lot about you. I think she really missed you … but it sounded like she really hated you, too. You know, if I ever asked her about it, she's probably shut me up. Maybe I can ask you."

"You want to know about me and Rika?" Ryo smirked. "Me and Rika have… history. Way back when before either of us became Tamers, we met at the Digimon Grand Prix."

"Yeah, she told me about that, too."

He laughed at the thought before continuing. "I beat her in a close battle. Something she never got over. When the other Tamers came to the Digital World Rika was one of the first Tamers to find me. Kazu and Kenta recognized me. They saw me as a legend. Rika STILL hadn't gotten over when I beat her in the Real World so she was still a little mad about that. And when a Digimon attacked us and I actually showed her up in a real Digimon battle, that didn't make things any better."

"She never told me that."

"It's because she'll always deny it. But, ask Kazu and Kenta. They were there. Rika couldn't believe someone actually beat her that day. I've been giving her rematches for years and she's never been able to win. You know, it's kinda funny. She looks at the way I play and the way I go about life and she just gives me attitude because she thinks I'm perfect. Has that ever happened to you?"

"No, but I definitely know who would be able to relate," Zoë said. "She calls our other roommate, Kari, 'Miss Perfect' all the time."

"You seem like a 'Miss Perfect', yourself," Ryo smiled. "Seeing you dance and all."

"Oh, you are so funny," Zoë said sarcastically, but she couldn't help but laugh.

"Seriously. And you're not that bad of singer, either."

"Yeah, I can probably win Japanese Idol, too. Right?"

"Is that what you're going to school for?" He asked her. She turned away and walked towards the stove, checking the meat.

"No. I'm going to school for Interior Design."

"Ooh, she cooks, sings, and designs houses. I'm surprised Rika hasn't snapped on you, yet. You seem so fluent."

Zoë laughed at him, surprised by his charm. Rika wasn't kidding when she said this guy was never short on jokes or comebacks. She was so taken aback by his alluring eyes that it scared her a little bit. The last time she laughed this hard was when she and Takuya were on good terms.

"You are _so_ clever. Ugh, I see why you get on Rika's nerves," she said, putting more grease on the burgers, which were turning out pretty well. "You want to stay for dinner? I'm sure Rika would absolutely LOVE to see you."

"Uh, better not. Rika would definitely not be amused since I didn't call first or anything. But... I sure would like to finish our little conversation. Maybe we could have lunch or something tomorrow? Get to know each other a little better."

Zoë thought about that. Having lunch with a guy she hardly knew? She didn't know if it was a good idea. After all, she hadn't dated anybody since her and Takuya broke up last summer. On the other hand, it was just lunch. There was nothing wrong with having lunch with him. It seemed harmless enough.

Zoë smiled. " ... I'd like that."

"Cool. I'll call you. Trust me, I know the number."

"Let me give you my cell phone number, just in case."

Zoë grabbed a piece of scratch paper and wrote her cell phone number on it. As she handed it to Ryo, someone walked in the door.

It was Jeri, who had her eyebrow raised. "Am I interrupting anything?"

"Nothing at all, Jeri," Ryo said cheerfully. "I was just leaving since it's getting late. If you see Rika, tell her I said hi. Zoë, I'll see you tomorrow."

Ryo walked out of the apartment, giving Renamon one more wave as he left. Zoë smiled and waved cheerfully as he left. Jeri, whistling innocently, just took a seat on the couch. Zoë knew exactly what she was thinking and what she must have thought she saw. Jeri took out her sock puppet.

"I didn't see a thing," Jeri said innocently.

"Me neither," the puppet added.

Zoë frowned. "Jeri, that wasn't what it looked like."

"Oh … of course it wasn't. I didn't think that at all. Heh…"

"We're just having lunch tomorrow. It's no big deal."

Jeri shook her head. "Of course it isn't. No big deal at all. It's just..."

**SILENCE**.

"What is it?" Zoë asked.

Jeri hesitated. "Nothing…"

Something obviously had Jeri a little edgy about this whole thing. Zoë knew it was just lunch. Nothing could possibly come of that. Besides, her and Ryo barely knew each other. Why would Jeri try and make a big deal out of this? Was it because he looked so charming and seemed like a really cool guy? Or was it something that was slipping Zoë's mind?

She shook it off when she saw Impmon walk past her and into the kitchen, the aroma of the burgers catching his attention. "What ya got cooking, toots?"She saw that they were nearly done, and immediately diverted her mind from Jeri, Rika, and… Ryo.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm out here this late."

Kazu said that for about the millionth time as he brought the van to a stop. He was at the lone intersection a few blocks away from Tamachi Technical University, empty as it usually was at this time of night. It was the perfect place to make an exchange.

The letter specified that this was the place where the Samurais wanted to make the trade. The trip there was quiet, with the exception of Terriermon turning up the radio. But, the radio went off and all went silent when they reached their destination. They were all alone there and an ominous atmosphere was present. No one knew what to expect. It was too quiet, so Kazu had Guardromon unload the statue from the top of the van.

After the statue was placed on the ground, another van pulled up to the area. Every door of the van, including the back door, opened and about nine muscular guys came out. They were all wearing Tamachi Samurai jackets. Then someone emerged from the driver's side door. It was a slender young man with long, greasy black hair, wearing a Tamachi Samurai sweater.

"I am Nicho," he said in a Spanish accent. "These are nine members of our school's intramural rugby team. You must be the losers who thought you could steal our school's statue and get away with it. But, as you can see, I am far too clever for you."

"How clever do you have to be to steal our mascot?" Kazu said bitingly.

"Grumble all you want, but the fact is, we're getting our statue back, so my methods are effective. Now I trust you have our statue?"

"Right there," Kenta pointed.

Nicho clapped once. "_Amigos_?"

The TTU intramural rugby squad walked over to the statue. Two of them pushed it over while the other seven broke its fall. Each of the nine rugby players held up a piece of the statue and walked it towards the van, showing no signs of struggle or fatigue. They placed it up on top of the van and each piled back in. Once they had the statue back in their possession, Nicho headed back to the van without hesitation.

"Hey, where's our mascot?" Kazu demanded.

"I said you would see him again, and you shall," Nicho said calmly. "You will see him … AFTER Friday's game!"

Nicho leapt into his car and quickly turned the key. Before Kazu or Kenta could stop him, Nicho sped off and the van was gone. But he left them with the ever charming words:

"TAMACHI TECH RULES!"

Kazu and Kenta were left in the dust. They no longer had possession of the Tamachi Samurai statue, but they still didn't have Guilmon back.

Terriermon poked his head out of the driver's side window. "We got double-crossed!"

Kenta gulped. "Takato's not gonna like this. And you know how he gets when he gets REALLY MAD!"

Kazu added to that gulp. Takato at his angriest was NEVER a pretty sight. He remembered what happened when Beelzemon killed Leomon six years ago and how it unleashed a fury never seen in Takato before. And something like losing Guilmon would be more than likely to bring out that anger again.

If this wasn't already a long night, it was sure to be now.

* * *

A villain's work was never done and that didn't sit well with Puppetmon, who always preferred the pleasures of playtime. So he kept his distance from the workaholics known as Datamon and The Digimon Empress as they tinkered with a design on the screen of the giant supercomputer.

"Did he look like this?" Datamon asked.

"The armor looked a little smoother than that," The Digimon Empress answered. "Plus, the cape was a little wider..."

Seven years ago, the former Digimon Emperor, Ken Ichijouji, once created a monstrous Digimon known as Kimeramon. Arukenimon once used Dark Spirals to create BlackWarGreymon. The Digimon Empress and Datamon were now taking a page from their book and creating a Digimon of their own, based on the powerful one that had saved the day at the season opener. Only this time, they were using most of the remaining Black Gear replicas.

"Are you sure about this?" Puppetmon whined. "These are the last Black Gears we have. We could control an entire army with them."

The Digimon Empress chuckled. "The one we're making is more powerful than a hundred armies. With this template and the Black Gears, we'll have the ultimate Digimon."

"Clear the way!" Datamon shouted.

He pressed a button and the process was underway. Every machine in the base went haywire and started smoking. The largest one emitted a huge light and the Black Gears all rose into the air. The light blinded everyone in the room temporarily.

The light soon faded and the smoke had all cleared. All that remained in the middle of the base was a large Digimon, who looked much like Gallantmon. He held a shield and lance that was just as massive. But, his armor and shield were a dark black. The cape and shoulders were a neon blue.

"Whoa, now _that's_ a Digimon!" Puppetmon said in amazement. He was obviously impressed.

The Digimon Empress laughed. "Behold! Our greatest creation: **ChaosGallantmon**!"

ChaosGallantmon was an intimidating sight. A fierce scowl could be seen through his helmet. He didn't move a single inch, but the sheer aura that surrounded him was something to behold. His large lance pointing in the air, his neon blue cape covering his back, his shield reflecting the rays of darkness; this truly looked like the ultimate Digimon.

"So what do we do with him?" Puppetmon asked. "I'm not sharing my toys with him!"

The Digimon Empress smirked. "I take him out for a test drive … so that the Digital World can see what they'll be up against if any dare to oppose us."

"The Dark One will be pleased with this one," Datamon commented. "If ChaosGallantmon can obliterate our enemies, it'll give him the chance to have the Child of Light all to himself."

"We get our just desserts when that happens, right?" Puppetmon asked.

The Digimon Empress nodded. "You get the human race, Datamon gets glory beyond belief, and I get the Digimon as my slaves. Sounds like a fair trade." The Digimon Empress walked over to ChaosGallantmon and snapped her fingers. "Lift me up."

ChaosGallantmon reached over his hand and picked her up. The Digimon Empress was placed on his shoulder as he stood up and prepared to receive his orders. Unlike the enigmatic BlackWarGreymon of days past, ChaosGallantmon looked to be totally obedient.

The Digimon Empress pointed forward. "Let's go!"

ChaosGallantmon walked to his right … to the groans of Datamon.

"The exit is THAT way!"

"I knew that!" The Digimon Empress's voice said from the distance. "About face!"

ChaosGallantmon did a 180 and headed out in the right direction. Things were looking up for the villains. With this new living weapon on their side, the DigiDestined, Legendary Warriors, and the Tamers wouldn't know what hit them.

* * *

After getting back to the friendly confines of Odaiba University, Terriermon made sure to keep a low profile. He separated from Kazu and Kenta and decided to go back in through the window. But he took his sweet time doing it, because he was in no rush to get back and get the third degree from Henry… or worse, Takato.

He got to his window and stayed outside momentarily, hoping to delay the inevitable. He knew he'd have to face the music eventually. He was as much at fault as Kazu and Kenta.

Luckily, though, Kazu and Kenta arrived first. Terriermon could hear Kazu's loud voice even from outside the window. He couldn't make out what Takato or Henry were saying. Their words were inaudible. But Takato suddenly got a lot louder.

"**WHAT?"**

Terriermon flinched. Takato was obviously in a bad mood. It was understandable, though, considering the circumstances. Guilmon was stuck on a strange campus and if he was exposed, things could only get worse. This was a very volatile situation.

Everything seemed to be hopeless. Without the Tamachi Samurai statue, there was no bargaining tool to get Guilmon back. The only way to get him back ... was to take him.

A light bulb appeared over Terriermon's head. He had the idea he had desperately sought since he saw Nicho run off with the statue. Terriermon would return to Tamachi University. But, it wouldn't be with Kazu and Kenta or Guardromon and MarineAngemon. He had something else in mind. He would go back to enemy territory with a totally new team.

Terriermon trotted down towards another window. He tapped that window with one of his long ears and then peeked inside. The room was empty … except for four figures. One of them came over and opened the window.

"What's up, Terriermon?" Tigrismon asked.

Terriermon sighed. "I need your help."


	18. Rescue

Terriermon held the window open with his right ear, giving him space to walk in. He looked around and saw that only the Digimon were around. That was good enough for him. He didn't need humans getting mixed up in this anymore.

"What's going on?" Tigrismon asked.

"I need you guys to help me," Terriermon began. "We have a big problem!"

"Problem?" Zenithmon piped up. He stuck his head out from underneath the bed. "What's the problem?"

"I tried to pull another prank with Kazu and Kenta and it totally blew up in my face," Terriermon explained. "I guess you guys probably aren't surprised about that one, but the point is that Guilmon's stuck somewhere in Tamachi University and I need to get him back. You guys are my best hope!"

Azumon stuck his head out from the dresser drawer. "Terriermon, it sounds like we're your _only_ hope."

"We can sneak into their campus and get him out before any of them see us," Terriermon proposed. "I really need guys who can work as a team, like you guys. And to be honest … well … I can't do it alone. So what do you say?"

"I guess we could help," Tigrismon agreed. "No harm in that, right guys?"

Zenithmon wasn't willing to give in without one condition. "Only if he promises never to pull a prank on US again."

"I didn't pull a prank on you guys! I meant to do it to Davis and them," Terriermon growled.

"Yeah, well, you still blasted me in the face. And you never apologized for it, either," Azumon pointed out.

Turtwigmon walked over to Tigrismon and Terriermon, who seemed to be half-asleep. "I think you should just give up on the pranks, Terriermon. They never seem to go right for you."

Terriermon let out an exasperated sigh. "Ugh! Are you guys gonna help me or not? This is the last time I will do a prank on ANYBODY! Just help me fix this and we're even!"

Tigrismon nodded. "Ok, we're in!"

Terriermon scratched his chin with his right ear. "Now the only real problem we might have is getting down there. We've got no means of transportation. And I'm already on thin ice with Henry."

At that moment, the light in the room turned on. All the Digimon stood frozen as Takuya stood and stared at them, somewhat surprised.

"Terriermon, what are you doing in here? I think Henry and Takato are looking for you," the Warrior of Flame told Terriermon.

"Aw great, well, there goes that plan," Tigrismon muttered bitingly.

Takuya didn't like the sound of that. Walking deeper into the room, Takuya sat next to the Digimon. "What plan? What are guys in here talking about?"

Terriermon sighed. He REALLY didn't want any other humans to get involved in this. But, Takuya may be of some use. And since he was able to Digivolve into Agunimon, he COULD count as Digimon…

Giving in, Terriermon finally said, "We gave the guys back at Tamachi Tech their samurai statue back, but they turned around and never gave us Guilmon! So I HAVE to go back and get him, just to set things right!"

The goggle head stared at Terriermon, impressed at the long-eared Digimon's determination. He shook his head hesitantly, but Terriermon interrupted him before he could even say anything. "Don't try and stop me, Takuya ! This is something I have to do!"

"Okay, and how are you guys going to get there?"

Tigrismon jumped in, "That's what we were just wondering."

Standing up, Takuya balled his hand into a face, a determined look coming into his eyes. Tigrismon had seen this look many times before coming from Takuya, especially when some type of resilient plan came crashing through his mind.

"I'm gonna help," he announced, causing the five Digimon to gasp in shock.

"You're coming, too?" Terriermon asked him.

"You guys are just gonna cause more trouble than we need right now if you do it by yourselves, so, yeah. I'm gonna help."

Tigrismon perked up, happy that his friend had so willingly volunteered to help get Guilmon back. Terriermon wasn't impressed, however. "Well, you better not go messing anything up!"

"Oh, I can't mess things up anymore than you have," Takuya shot back, causing to Terriermon sweatdrop. He did have a point.

But, then, Zenithmon said, "But, Takuya. Don't you have class?"

"Yeah, but I'll just skip it. Getting Guilmon back is much more serious than that," the Flame Warrior replied. "We'll take JP's truck tomorrow."

Everything seemed to be moving forward into action. Although Takuya had undoubtedly invited himself along, Terriermon wasn't going to complain much. This wasn't about a prank that backfired anymore. This was about a rescue mission. It was time for him to get his friend back.

* * *

The sun began to rise as Agumon looked out the window of the Trailmon they were traveling in. Passing the expansive desert, his mind was racing as always when Gabumon came walking from another cart.

"Did you sleep at all?"

"How could I?" Agumon replied, looking at Gabumon, who had a worried look on his face that was soon turning to be ever-present. "Everything about this whole mission bothers me."

"You're not the only one," Gabumon said as he sat in the seats across from Agumon. "Bokomon keeps going on about not knowing exactly what we're looking for and whatnot."

"And I'm with him. I thought we were so close to finding something. But we're pretty much back where we started, aren't we? Riding back and forth on the Trailmon aren't getting us anywhere."

"Some squad we are," Gabumon whispered sadly. "I don't think this is what Gennai had in mind for us."

They felt the Trailmon they were on suddenly stop, the desert no longer rushing behind them. Exchanging glances with each other, Agumon and Gabumon got up out of their seats and heading towards the front compartment.

Once they reached the front, they walked off the train, turning towards him. "Worm? What's going on?" Agumon asked the Trailmon.

"Roadblock!" Worm shouted, making Agumon and Gabumon look forward.

From the distance, a familiar figure was slowly stalking towards them on the train tracks, giving them the appearance of a mirage and very menacing.

"Oh, no! It's the Digimon Emperor!" Bokomon shouted, appearing on top of Worm with Neemon, Hawkmon, and Armadillomon following behind him.

"Close, but way off," the figure said with a feminine voice.

"It's a girl!" Gabumon exclaimed.

She stopped right in front of the Worm and the six Rookie-level Digimon, lashing a whip to keep them at a distance. She had the same attire, cape, whip, and dark sunglasses as the old Digimon Emperor, something that brought a chill to Agumon. But, this girl also had long, blond hair that blew in the wind.

"I think it's time I finally showed myself to you interlopers," she said. "I am the Digimon Empress and I don't like you snooping around what will soon be MY Digital World!"

"You're the one tossing Black Gears around, aren't you?" Gabumon demanded. "How dare you enslave helpless Digimon!"

The Digimon Empress chuckled. "It's true. I have been wandering this world, throwing around Black Gears, but you'll be happy to know that I won't be doing that anymore."

Agumon blinked. "Uh … that's good to hear."

"I no longer require Black Gears. The ones in this box are the last batch I have. You see, I have all the Digimon I need. But, you know something? It was fun to stay behind the scenes while everybody wondered how Digimon were emerging in the Real World. And I'm sure you're wondering why I decided to reveal myself to you?"

"Actually, that IS a pretty good question," Armadillomon mused.

"I didn't want you're whole journey to be pointless," The Digimon Empress said. "I figured, you might as well find the information you want … before your imminent destruction. So this is me. Too bad you won't be able to tell anyone what you saw."

"Oh, yeah?" Gabumon dared. "Who's gonna stop us?"

The Digimon Empress pointed to the sky. "He is."

Another figure came running off the crag of a mountain and daringly leapt in the air. The rising sun's rays reflected off his dark cape. It was an armored knight equipped with a lance at the right arm and a huge shield at the left.

"I'd like you to meet ChaosGallantmon, the Digimon that will blast you into oblivion. So long, interlopers. ChaosGallantmon, destroy them!"

Agumon, Gabumon, Bokomon, Neemon, Hawkmon, and Armadillomon shuddered where they stood. This fearsome knight was stepping towards them and prepped his lance for an assault. At that exact moment, Worm reversed back down the railroad, dragging the six rookies with him. They were all in in big trouble. And the DigiDestined Digimon couldn't Digivolve without their partners.

* * *

Terriermon had feigned being asleep, and waited for Henry and Takato to leave and head to class the next morning.

Takato rushed out of his room with Henry bumbling after him. They were late and were making mad dashes towards the door, not having time to do anything but run.

"Why didn't our alarm clocks go off?" Takato shouted worriedly.

"I don't have time to ponder it now, come on!" Henry replied back.

The two boys ran out of the room in a hurry, leaving Terriermon all to himself. Coming into the living room, he looked around just to see if anybody was here.

Deciding to get ready for the 'mission' that he was going to set out on today, he retreated back to Henry's room, preparing himself for any encounters he might have getting Guilmon back from Tamachi Technical University.

He waited longer and longer, and before long, Terriermon began to get annoyed at the long wait. "I KNEW I should've done this myself!" He quipped to himself, irritated by Takuya's lateness.

As if on cue, a knock could be heard at the front door. Hoping it was nobody but Takuya, Terriermon ran out of Henry's room. Unfortunately, he had no way of knowing if it was REALLY Takuya, so Terriermon did the only thing he could do.

He knocked back with his ear.

Although unorthodox, it got him the response he wanted. "Terriermon, open up!" It was Takuya.

The long-eared Digimon quickly opened the door, and the goggle-headed flame warrior walked in with a large box in his hands.

"What's with the box?" Terriermon asked.

He got his answer when Tigrismon popped his head from inside of it. "Can we hurry this up? I think Turtwigmon passed gas in here!"

"Oh, that's that smell? I thought that's the way ALL boxes smell," Zenithmon replied.

"It wasn't me!" Turtwigmon shot back.

Takuya pushed Tigrismon's head back in the box, shushing the Sovereign Digimon. "Will you guys can it?"

"Are we ready to go?" Terriermon asked.

Takuya dug in his pocket and took out a set of car keys. "Let's ride!"

Terriermon hopped on Takuya's shoulder, who walked back out the front door of the apartment. Luckily, not many people were in the hallway, and the ones that were only cast quick, side-glances at the goggle-head, who had a large box and a long-eared 'stuffed animal' hanging off of his shoulder.

Takuya walked out of the lobby and to the back way towards the parking lot, only to avoid all of the stares he would've gotten from the people going to class. It wasn't long before he spotted JP's pickup truck.

He threw the box in the back of the truck and he ran to the driver's seat. Terriermon took his place in the passenger seat as Takuya put the key in and started the ignition.

They were on their way to Tamachi Technical University.

* * *

Worm sped down the railroad, with ChaosGallantmon gliding after them in the sky not far behind. This Digimon was much bigger than the DigiDestined Digimon were and being stuck at Rookie-level, Agumon knew their chances of coming out on top were slim to none, especially since this Digimon had no Black Gear at all. This was a pure evil Digimon.

However, as big as this Digimon was, Agumon also realized that the numbers were on their side. There was six of them and only one of him.

"Give it everything you've got, guys! **Pepper Breath**!"

"**Blue Blaster**!"

"**Feather Strike**!"

"**Diamond Shell**!"

The four Digimon attacked. It did no good. Each attack harmlessly bounced off the black armor of ChaosGallantmon.

"That won't do any good," The Digimon Empress smirked. "ChaosGallantmon is a Mega Digimon. You rookies don't stand a chance. You might as well give up and take your execution bravely."

"We won't give up!" Agumon cried.

The Digimon Empress sighed tediously. "Have it your way. ChaosGallantmon?"

The big ChaosGallantmon aimed his lance. "**Dark Saber**!"

ChaosGallantmon attacked and Worm barely missed the attack. It did, however, make a large crater where sand and tracks once stood. The Trailmon nearly lost his balance, rocking his six Rookie Digimon passengers along with him.

"Whoa, that one rocked my bowels!" Worm yelled as he sped up, trying his best to lose ChaosGallantmon and the Digimon Empress.

"She's after us! We have to take this somewhere else!" Agumon yelled. He looked up and saw ChaosGallantmon upon them. He looked down at the speeding ground below them. They had no choice but to jump. Bokomon had a worried look on his face, but everyone else was ready.

"One… two… THREE!"

The six of them jumped off of Worm, who continued to speed down the track away from them.

Agumon, Gabumon, Armadillomon, and Neemon rolled in the dirt as ChaosGallantmon sped towards them. Hawkmon had caught Bokomon in his talons and they were flying in the air.

"We can't stand up to that Digimon!" Hawkmon exclaimed. "That's more powerful than anything I've ever seen!"

"But, we can't just run away!" Gabumon said bravely. "We can't let her get away with what she's doing to all those Digimon! We have to stay and fight!"

Armadillomon held out the DigiCore that Gennai had given them. "We've still got this doohickey!"

"But, Gennai told us to use that in an emergency," Neemon pointed out.

As soon as he said that, ChaosGallantmon aimed his lance at them, once again. "**Dark Saber**!"

The six Digimon ran out of the way, the attack causing another crater where it hit. "I believe THIS would qualify as an emergency!" Bokomon cried.

They ran into a cave, which had a large opening in front of it. ChaosGallantmon slowly stalked towards them. "So should I open the box?" Armadillomon asked.

"YES!"

"You got it!"

Armadillomon opened the box Gennai had given them and two powerful rays of rainbow-colored light emerged from it. They shot straight up before landing on Agumon and Gabumon. And the light gave them the extra help they had been seeking.

****Agumon … Warp Digivolve to … WarGreymon!****

****Gabumon … Warp Digivolve to … MetalGarurumon!****

The power from the box had given Agumon and Gabumon the power to Warp Digivolve … without the aid of their partners. The sides had suddenly evened up. ChaosGallantmon struck the entrance of the cave, causing rocks and debris to fall around them. With added punch and firepower, the two Mega Digimon ran out of the cave and saw ChaosGallantmon standing tall and fearless.

Hawkmon walked out, trying to shake something out of the box. "HEY! What about us?"

"Hmm... I guess it doesn't affect us," Armadillomon thought.

"Doesn't matter," WarGreymon said. "We've got more than enough power to take care of this guy."

The Digimon Empress chuckled. "I think NOT. You may have reached the Mega level by some fluke, but you still don't stand a chance against ChaosGallantmon!"

ChaosGallantmon charged forward, holding his lance out. WarGreymon tried to stand up to him, but ChaosGallantmon swung his saber and sent him flying until he hit the wall by the cave. MetalGarurumon rushed forward, but ChaosGallantmon held his lance out. MetalGarurumon bit the lance and had a firm grip on it, but ChaosGallantmon just swung the lance and sent the metallic Mega flying by his fallen ally. The two DigiDestined Mega Digimon briefly regrouped.

"Let's try this again," WarGreymon muttered.

WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon circled ChaosGallantmon as the fearsome knight didn't even move an inch. While they stared each other down, Hawkmon, Bokomon, Neemon, and Armadillomon began to make their move. They saw that this whole thing distracted The Digimon Empress, so they slowly walked back towards the box of Black Gears.

Hawkmon grabbed the box and started flying off. The Digimon Empress suddenly noticed what was going on and tried to retrieve the box. She didn't get far, because Bokomon and Neemon tripped her up before she could reach it. Hawkmon took the box in the air and got WarGreymon's attention.

"WarGreymon! The Black Gears!"

WarGreymon saw Hawkmon in the air holding up the box and knew that this was his chance to eradicate the menace for good. Hawkmon tossed down the box, giving WarGreymon a midair target.

"**Terra Force**!"

WarGreymon's giant Terra Force fireball incinerated the entire box of Black Gears upon immediate contact.

The Digimon Empress pounded a fist into the dirt. "My Black Gears! You'll PAY for that! ChaosGallantmon!"

ChaosGallantmon slowly stalked WarGreymon until MetalGarurumon came to attack from the side.

"**Metal Wolf Claw**!"

The cold Metal Wolf Claw nailed ChaosGallantmon in the side of his rib and sent him crashing by the wall. WarGreymon looked to finish him off while he was stunned.

"**Terra Force**!"

The gigantic fireball headed right towards ChaosGallantmon and looked to hit directly. An explosion erupted and a large number of rocks hanging above fell in a tremendous avalanche. There seemed to be nothing left, except for a pile of rocks. With nothing stirring and silence filling the air, it looked like the two DigiDestined Mega Digimon had won.

But, then an arm rose out of the rubble.

WarGreymon couldn't believe it. "Impossible!"

The Digimon Empress chuckled. "You didn't think that he would be beaten THAT easily, did you?"

ChaosGallantmon rose out of the rocks, singed but otherwise in good condition. He aimed his lance at WarGreymon.

"**Dark Saber**!"

The electrical Dark Saber attack hit WarGreymon right in the chest and sent him down. He then tossed his shield at MetalGarurumon. MetalGarurumon caught the shield like a Frisbee … but dozens of electrical jolts surged through his body and he collapsed. ChaosGallantmon calmly walked over and grabbed his shield from MetalGarurumon and casually toss him right beside WarGreymon. But he wasn't done.

"**DARK SABER**!"

ChaosGallantmon's Dark Saber attack struck the rocks above the two Mega-level Digimon and sent them crashing down in a tremendous avalanche. WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon soon found themselves buried in a rocky tomb with no way out.

* * *

This was more than a suitable demonstration. The Digimon Empress had witnessed ChaosGallantmon demolish WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon, two of the toughest Digimon there were. A point had been proven. Her side was now unbeatable.

There was still the matter of finding the other four cowardly rookies who had destroyed the remaining Black Gears. But they were nowhere in sight. They had obviously fled the scene after witnessing such an awesome display of power.

"Our work is done," she muttered. "Let's go. I've got a little business back in the Real World."

ChaosGallantmon reached out and perched her up on his shoulder. They left the scene, convinced that they had finished off the DigiDestined Digimon.

* * *

Students walked around everywhere as they were obviously either in between classes or having their break. Tamachi Technical University was a very big campus and Terriermon didn't even know where to start searching for Guilmon. Neither did any of his partners. So they sat in JP's pickup truck until they thought of a decent plan.

"So where should we start?" Tigrismon asked.

"I think the best thing we could do is split up," Terriermon suggested. "We'll each go around looking for Guilmon in a separate area of this-"

"Dibs on the cafeteria!" Zenithmon piped up.

"Dang!" Terriermon grumbled, snapping his fingers out of frustration. "Ok fine, I'll take the dorms and-"

But, the only human with them cut him off. "Look, if we're gonna do this right, you guys CANNOT let anybody see you!"

"Takuya, we aren't dimwits. We know!" Terriermon shot back.

"Alright. I'll take the gym," Takuya said despondently. "Everyone meet back here in TWO HOURS!"

"What if we get caught?" Turtwigmon pointed out.

"You guys won't get caught," Terriermon replied. "If anybody sees you, just fall over and do the 'stuffed animal' thing. They'll think you're a lost toy or something. So are we all set?"

Zenithmon nodded. "Let's do it!"

"And we don't come back until we find Guilmon!" Tigrismon added.

Terriermon took a step forward. "Then, let's split up!"

The five Digimon and their one human partner each hopped out the truck and ran in a separate direction. The search for the missing Guilmon had begun. But, finding him in enormous Tamachi Technical University would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

And Terriermon knew he didn't have much time. It wouldn't be long before Henry realized he was missing.

* * *

Zenithmon took a peek through the window to see hundreds of Tamachi Technical University students sitting down to eat in the school's cafeteria. He saw no sign of Guilmon in there, but he couldn't exactly make anybody out among the large crowd. Of course, he couldn't just waltz in there, he'd be spotted. So he decided to take another route.

Maintaining his cover, Zenithmon pattered around the building trying to find another way in. Then he saw a truck parked outside the cafeteria and a door open right beside it. It led into the kitchen.

"Maybe he's in there," he muttered to himself.

Once the coast was clear, Zenithmon flapped his tiny wings into the cafeteria's kitchen. He didn't see Guilmon, but he wasn't really looking with his eyes at that moment. He was distracted by his nose. The fresh aroma of grilled chicken and meat patties had him salivating.

Thinking he could afford to get sidetracked for a few seconds, Zenithmon slowly inched towards the delicious-smelling food. But when he saw the chefs coming back into the kitchen, he knew he had to hide. Zenithmon hopped into an open box of meat.

"Looks like we've got a busy day."

"Yeah, it's like these kids don't get enough to eat at home."

"Is this today's shipment?"

"Yeah, you know what to do with it."

Zenithmon suddenly felt the box get lifted up. He was being moved somewhere.

"Hey, this box is heavy. What are they putting in the meat these days?"

A couple of seconds later, Zenithmon felt the box tip over and he fell out along with the dozens of meat patties into a walk-in freezer. Before Zenithmon could shake off the cobwebs, the freezer door closed. Zenithmon soon found that the door couldn't be opened from the inside. He was stuck.

The freezer had to be at subzero temperatures. As Zenithmon shivered, he could only think about how his appetite had gotten him into trouble.

* * *

Turtwigmon had a simple task: cover Tamachi Technical University's library in hopes that he could find Guilmon. This place looked harmless enough and could contain valuable clues.

He walked atop the library's bookshelves, the small leaf on his head moving back and forth. The students were all wrapped up in their textbooks and homework, so they didn't even notice a green turtle walking along a bookshelf. But Turtwigmon didn't see any physical clues. He had soon stumbled onto a different type of clue.

Two young girls were sitting alone at a table and conversing. They were very quiet, seeing as they WERE in a library. They were likely having a normal conversation, but then Turtwigmon heard bits and pieces of it that grabbed his attention.

"... so I heard … the game this Friday ... Odaiba U's mascot …"

The words immediately got Turtwigmon curious. He could hardly hear anything, so he decided to go down and get in a better position. He carefully climbed down and tiptoed towards the table. He held on to one of the table's legs and started eavesdropping.

"You mean to tell me that some freshman kid actually kidnapped the Odaiba Dragon?"

"So serious! And rumor has it that he's being kept in one of the cheerleader's dorms. The rugby team passes by there everyday and everyone thinks it's to check and make sure the mascot hasn't escaped."

"Do you really think they can get away with that? I thought that sort of thing was illegal."

"It probably is, but that sort of thing's been done before. Haven't you ever seen 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'? The mascot's kept on the rival campus to psych the other team out. When the game's over, the mascot is released and goes home safe and sound. It's exactly the same thing."

Turtwigmon was getting plenty of info and everything seemed to be going great. But poor Turtwigmon didn't notice the librarian wheeling over a cart full of books towards the table. And the cart stopped … right on Turtwigmon's tail.

His eyes bulged out. A heavy cart on his tail was enough to have him crying in pain, but he couldn't blow his cover. So he bit his tongue and endured the agony while the girls continued.

"You think Odaiba might try and get revenge?"

"I hope not. This is starting to get ugly."

"I think this 'mascot stealing' thing is already crossing the line. I hope it doesn't get any worse."

"You think one of them might come get him?"

"No way. To come to a hostile campus in the midst of a huge rivalry week? Anyone from Odaiba U who'd be dumb enough to come here would have to be a total tool."

"Hey, our class is in five minutes. Let's go."

"Okay."

The girls got up, having unknowingly provided Turtwigmon with all the information he needed. Now he knew to go look for Guilmon in the dorms. But just as he was about to head out, one of the books from the cart fell on top of his head. Unfortunately, it was a heavy encyclopedia.

"Hmm … a stuffed toy," the librarian said as she picked up the book. "I hope nobody leaves it here."

The librarian wheeled the cart away as Turtwigmon started staggering around.

"Just … call me … Tool the Turtle."

Turtwigmon fell over and lost consciousness.

* * *

Azumon didn't have a clue where to start looking for Guilmon. So he decided to start at the most random of locations, the students' laundry area. The little blue dragon Digimon didn't seriously expect to FIND Guilmon there, but he at least thought he'd get some information he could use.

"So did you hear about the Odaiba mascot?"

That got his ears burning. Two girls were standing by a dryer and one of them brought up a certain mascot. Slithering over by the dryers, Azumon sneaked inside a basket full of wet laundry right next to the girls to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Is it really true that some freshman is hiding him in one of the cheerleader's dorms?"

"I wouldn't doubt it. I hear guys from the rugby team go in everyday to make sure he's still there."

"The things guys do for a stupid rivalry."

Azumon got some vital information, but he didn't know when it was time to bail out. One of the girls picked up the laundry basket he was hiding in and dumped everything, including Azumon, inside the dryer.

"This thing is heavy! I didn't know all these clothes weighed THIS much."

The other girl put a quarter in the dryer and pressed the button. Both girls walked away, not knowing they had a dragon Digimon in the dryer. Unable to escape, Azumon … was stuck in a spin cycle. Azumon loved rides as much as the next Digimon, but he felt like he was about to hurl.

Azumon started spitting. "EW … laundry lint!"

Unfortunately for poor Azumon, spin cycles lasted about an hour at the least, so this would last a while.

* * *

Takuya stealthily walked into the gym, trying his best to blend in with the students of Tamachi Technical University. But, even HE knew that he looked like he didn't know where he was going.

He could only hope that the Digimon were having a better time at finding Guilmon than he was.

A group of guys had just left the gym, so Takuya slinked by the bleachers. He wasn't sure how to go about asking people if they've seen the Odaiba University mascot anywhere on campus, and he definitely didn't want to let anyone start thinking he was a student from the rivaling school.

He took a seat down on the bleachers, watching an intense game of girls volleyball game. Scanning the rest of the gym area, Takuya noticed that the Tamachi Samurai statue was placed back in its holding spot, nobody even to tell that it was taken not too long ago.

But, no sign of Guilmon.

Standing up, Takuya decided that the gym was not the right place for him to look for Guilmon. Unfortunately, as soon as he stood up, the volleyball had lodged him right in the head, knocking him back on his butt.

Takuya was dazed for a second, his balance and eyesight somewhat off the rocker.

He heard a couple people laugh, some of the girls gasp in accidental shock.

Two girls, in particular, made their way over to him.

"Are you okay?" The girl with pig-tails in her head helped him back onto the bleachers.

"Man, Chiaki, you really socked him," a girl wit short black hair quipped.

"I didn't mean too. He was standing right there!"

His blurred vision finally got regular, and the two girls stared him dead in the face.

"Are you okay?"

"Uh, I think so…"

The girl with the short, black hair sighed in relief. "Whew, dodged that bullet."

"I'm really sorry," the pigtailed girl apologized. "You were RIGHT there!"

"You'll have to excuse her. Chiaki can get a little crazy when she's competing."

"Like you don't?" Chiaki shot back.

Something familiar about the Chiaki girl crossed Takuya's mind, like he had met her somewhere before, but he couldn't quite place it. And the dazed gaze that she gave him said that she was thinking the same thing.

"Do I know you?"

They did an awkward chuckle, seeing as how they asked the question at the same time. The girl with the short hair looked back and forth from Chiaki to Takuya. "Okay, is there something I should know about?"

"Uh, no its just… I feel like I've met you somewhere before," Chiaki said, still gazing into Takuya's eyes.

"I'm getting that same vibe."

"Do you go here?"

That question had stirred him back into reality, remembering as to why he came to Tamachi Tech in the first place.

"Uh… well… I'm visiting… a friend," Takuya started nervously. "And he said that he was with the Odaiba mascot and I was like, Odaiba?"

The two girls looked at him with doubtful expressions.

"Who told you that?"

The voice came from at the very top bleacher.

The three of them looked up, only to see a large, muscular guy with a large tattoo on his arm. He was surrounded by crowd of guys with similar tattoos in various positions.

Takuya gulped nervously. Had he been figured out?

* * *

Terriermon had looked in just about every dorm building on this campus and found nothing. He didn't even find a single clue as to where Guilmon could be. The two hours were almost up and he was down to his final dorm building. Terriermon stalked towards the entrance and stealthily slipped inside once the coast was clear.

Whenever a student would walk by, Terriermon would freeze and hope he wasn't noticed. Thus far, they had all left him alone, probably just dismissing him as a misplaced toy. It was a long search, but so far he hadn't found anything in any of the other dorms and the search in this particular dorm didn't appear to be any more productive. Terriermon was coming up empty again ...

... at least until he heard a familiar voice.

"I'm still pretty hungry."

That was Guilmon's voice. And it was coming from one of the rooms at the end of the hall. Terriermon paused and thought up a game plan. It would be unwise to rush in through the door. So the long-eared Digimon thought of something else. He ran back out through the door and decided to rush in through the window.

As Terriermon ran out the door and ran along the side of the building's wall, he could only imagine what his poor friend must be going through. Guilmon was one of his best friends and he couldn't stand the thought of him possibly being tormented by these TTU strangers who were taking a rivalry too far. It must have been horrible in there.

Finally, Terriermon reached the window and looked inside …

"What the … ?"

… to see Guilmon being fed grapes by several of the TTU cheerleaders. Guilmon wasn't suffering at all. He was being ... PAMPERED.

"You're just the cutest thing, Gil," one of them said.

"I wish you could be OUR mascot," another added. "You seem so innocent. You're such a nice guy."

"Another grape, Gil?"

Guilmon nodded. "Yes, please. Thank you so much. These are delicious."

"Can I buy you a burger after the game on Friday, Gil?"

"Hey, *I* wanted to go out with Gil after the game!"

"What makes you think he wants to go out with either of you? He wants to go out with me!"

"No way! He wants to go out with me!"

"Me!"

"Me!"

"ME!"

Terriermon started to turn beet red. He couldn't believe he had come on such a dangerous rescue mission, only to find that the only danger Guilmon was in was possibly being smothered by these cheerleaders.

The door suddenly opened and someone else came in. Terriermon recognized that face. It was the same Spanish kid with the greasy hair that had double-crossed Kazu and Kenta. It was that Nicho guy.

Nicho sweatdropped upon seeing the scene. "Ladies, this isn't exactly what I had in mind when I had the mascot brought here. I didn't have him brought here so he could have it better than I do."

"Aw, but he's cute, Nicho," one of them replied.

"Yeah, he's got this innocence that makes him the cutest little thing."

"I can't believe you're all falling over yourselves to cater to the _rival school's_ mascot. You don't even know what he really looks like under that costume!"

"Hey, we don't know that, do we?" one of the cheerleaders realized. "What do you say, Gil? Can we see what you look like?"

Guilmon shook his head frantically. "Uh-uh. You can't see what I really look like. Uh … it's a rule of mascots."

"I don't play by the rules!" Nicho growled. "Now are you going to take off that stupid costume, or am I going to have to MAKE you take it off?"

Now things were starting to take a turn for the worst. If Nicho tried to take off the costume … he'd find out it WASN'T a costume. Seeing the urgency of the situation, Terriermon thought fast. He looked out towards the parking lot and shouted as loud as he could.

"What do you mean there's someone from Odaiba here?"

It didn't exactly get people clamoring. But it did succeed in getting Nicho's attention.

"Someone from Odaiba? They must be here looking for their mascot. Or at least here to negotiate. We should tend to this situation."

"Aw, but do we have to leave Gil here?" one of the cheerleaders pouted.

"He'll be fine … as long as he doesn't try to escape. Because if he does, our rugby team will bend him in many unnatural shapes and uncomfortable knots."

Guilmon gulped. "I don't like the sound of that."

Nicho held the door open. "Ladies, after you."

The cheerleaders filed out of the room and Nicho followed. Guilmon was by himself and this was the opening that Terriermon needed. He tapped on the window with his ear.

Guilmon looked around until he finally noticed Terriermon knocking on the window. The Odaiba mascot ran over and opened the window so Terriermon could come in.

"Terriermon!" Guilmon exclaimed happily, glad to see his friend.

Terriermon growled. "Don't you 'Terriermon!' me, you big, red lizard! I'm busting my butt to try and rescue you and I find you getting waited on hand and foot by a bunch of cheerleaders? I thought you were in trouble!"

"But, I am in trouble," Guilmon said calmly. "If I try to leave, Nicho will bend me into many unnatural shapes and uncomfortable knots like Takatomon's shoelaces."

"That's why we have to get out NOW before he comes back!" Terriermon pointed out. "Let's go out the window."

Terriermon held the window open so Guilmon could climb out. As soon as he climbed out, Terriermon got set to follow, but then he got an idea.

"Hey, Guilmon? Hand me that sweater you have on."

Guilmon took off his Odaiba Dragon sweater, something that was quickly becoming the mascot's trademark, and handed it to Terriermon. The would-be prankster wanted to make sure and get the last laugh on Tamachi Technical University.

"Terriermon, what are you doing?"

Terriermon answered that question by hanging the sweater over the center of a nearby coat rack. Then he placed the coat rack in the middle of the room to send a message to Nicho and the others at Tamachi Tech. But there was something Terriermon couldn't possibly anticipate.

"Not so fast, _amigo_!"

Terriermon turned around, but when he did, he was met with a broomstick to the head. Terriermon was sent crashing towards the window. When he raised his head, he saw he had been ambushed … by a Digimon. This one was a small, stout red and yellow bird-like Digimon.

"My Tamer went to a lot of trouble to get that mascot," he said. "But, I knew when I first laid eyes on him that he wasn't just a mascot. He's a Digimon like you and me, _verdad_? But, mascot or not, he's not going anywhere, _comprende_?"

"Who are you?" Terriermon demanded.

"I'm Nicho's Digimon, Muchomon. And if you want to take that mascot, you'll have to go through me first, _señor_."

Guilmon blinked. "Nicho's a Tamer?"

"Bet you didn't see that one coming," Terriermon muttered dryly. He got to his feet. "Ok, I didn't come here for a fight, but if you really want it…"

"_Lo quiero mucho_, _amigo_. **Poison Claw**!"

Muchomon tried to swipe at Terriermon, but only slashed the wall. Guilmon reached into the room and grabbed some rags that were on the floor and dumped them over Muchomon's head.

"¡_Caramba_! ¿_Dònde estas_?"

With Muchomon temporarily blinded, Terriermon took his open opportunity.

"**Terrier Tornado**!"

Muchomon, along with all the rags covering him, were caught in the Terrier Tornado attack. Clothes spun around everywhere and Muchomon was sent flying into the closet. Terriermon shut the closet door and put the coat rack on the knob to keep it closed.

Muchomon pounded on the door. "_Què es esto_? Let me out of here!"

Terriermon saw his chance to escape, so he rushed towards the window and jumped out. With Muchomon momentarily stuck in the closet, they had to make their getaway fast.

"Ok, we need a way to escape. There has to be a way for us to get to the parking lot FAST."

Terriermon looked around, trying to find some way to make a clean getaway. The students were all walking around, in between classes. Sneaking around again was a possibility, but it wouldn't be long before Nicho came back and found Guilmon missing.

That's when Terriermon their break had finally came.

"Hey, guys! Hop on!"

The two Digimon looked off to the side to see Takuya come barreling through on a bicycle.

Terriermon panicked when he saw a crowd of tattooed guys not too far behind, chasing the goggle-head.

Takuya zoomed by them, and in an instant, Terriermon hopped on Takuya's head while Guilmon jumped on the back.

They were crowded but they were still moving. Terriermon smirked. "Let's ride!"

* * *

Zoë waited at the table outside The Den. As nervous as she was, she had to convince herself over and over again that this WASN'T a date, just a casual lunch with a _certain friend_. Even if he was one of the most gorgeous guys she's ever met. Even if her roommate had a thing for him, that didn't mean Zoë was checking for him.

But, when he walked through the door, her stomach did a back flip. Perfectly prompt, Ryo was five minutes early. He certainly didn't disappoint.

"Nice to see you," Zoë smiled. She giggled. "I almost thought you wouldn't show."

"You know I wouldn't miss something like this," Ryo smirked. "It's always good to make a new friend. And Ken's told me a little bit about you."

"Is that right? Like what?"

"Well… he says that you can transform into the Legendary Warrior of Wind… is it true?"

"Is that the only reason you asked me to lunch?" Zoë said reprovingly, but with a grin.

"Of course not! Wouldn't need you to bite my head off."

Zoë continued to smirk. "Nah, I wouldn't do that," she grinned. "I think you get enough of that from Rika."

Ryo looked around cautiously. "She's not around or anything, is she?"

Zoë shook her head. "Ryo, I wouldn't try to hide Rika under a table. That's more something Jeri would do."

Ryo breathed a sigh of relief. Zoë giggled at how nervous he seemed about seeing Rika. She had always pictured the two having a rocky relationship based on what Rika said. And Zoë saw that they obviously did … but in a funny kind of way. The way they seemed to have developed a kind of rivalry was rather cute.

And that would provide a perfect segue for an icebreaker.

"You seemed kinda nervous. So I take it you DO like Rika?"

* * *

Koichi sat with his brother, Kazu, and Kenta at The Den, the latter of the four had crestfallen looks on their faces. Takato had chomped them out rather harshly, and the two would-be pranksters were feeling kind of bad about the whole situation. Koji's brashness and amazing ability to tell the truth, didn't make things any better.

"Ah, cheer up, guys. Everything will work itself out," Koichi said.

"How can you say that?" Kenta threw his hands up worriedly.

"Takato is gonna hate us forever," Kazu said bitingly.

"He doesn't hate you," Koichi said comfortingly.

"Well, I hope you guys learned an important lesson from all this," Koji added. "I mean, all of this over a silly prank? Now, Takato doesn't have his partner, Guilmon is in possible danger, and regular people might find out that Digimon actually exist… But, what's the worse that can happen?"

Kazu and Kenta slammed their heads on the table in agony.

Koichi glared at his brother, who just shrugged it off before standing up with his tray, taking it towards the trashcan. "Catch you guys later."

At that moment, Koichi had spotted two more familiar faces in line getting food. It was Davis and Ken. Before he could say anything to them, however, JP walked in front of him, obscuring his vision.

"Koichi."

The Warrior of Darkness couldn't help but notice JP wasn't his normal, happy-go-lucky self. In fact, he looked a little… mad.

"Hey, JP. What's up?" Koichi asked.

JP took the seat Koji had just gotten up from. "I'll tell you what's up. Takuya STILL hasn't brought my truck back, yet."

Koichi was a little confused to hear that. "Takuya has your truck? Why?"

Before JP could respond, a shriek came from behind them.

"READ THE CARD!"

They turned to see that Davis and Ken had been joined by Yolei, who looked more than furious about something. Ken was holding a card with roses, looking more perplexed than ever.

His eyes scanned the card in his hands. And when he sweatdropped, the Legendary Warriors knew it was bad.

"Yeah, 'Love, Rosa'!" Yolei growled after seeing Ken's reaction. "What's THAT about, Ken?"

"Yolei, I had no idea- !"

Yolei turned around and started leaving. "Have your roses! Hope you prick yourself!"

Ken wanted to chase after her, but Davis held him back. He knew better than anyone that there was no dealing with Yolei when she was in this kind of mood.

JP took the attention off of them and turned back to Koichi. "Do you know where Takuya is? He hasn't been picking up my calls."

Koichi was brought back to reality. "You gave Takuya your truck? He doesn't even have a license!"

The Warrior of Thunder slapped his head in remembrance. "Ah, man! I forgot!"

"Where did he say he was going?"

"He said he had to go pick something up."

Kenta picked his head up, ears burning. "Pick something up from where?"

"I didn't ask," JP replied.

"Wait a second, wait a second," Kazu cut in. "You mean to tell me you gave him your keys and didn't ask where he was going?"

"And he doesn't have a license?"

JP felt real stupid right about now. Koichi was felling suspicious, however. Where would have Takuya gone in the middle of the day without telling anybody?

Koichi was about to address the issue, but when he turned to JP, the Thunder Warrior's eyes were looking in one direction. "JP?"

Following his gaze, Koichi saw Zoë sitting at a table with a guy with brown hair. Someone that was all too familiar to Kazu and Kenta.

"Who is that?" JP asked.

"Ryo!" Kazu and Kenta said in unison.

"But… why is he with Zoë?" JP questioned, once more.

"I don't know… looks like lunch," Kenta replied.

"But, she doesn't even know him!"

"Well, isn't that the whole point of lunch?" Kazu quipped.

JP wasn't convinced. He had long ago quit trying to pursue Zoë in a romantic relationship. When she chose Takuya over him when they were fourteen-years-old, he had to admit, it cut him deep. But, Takuya was a good friend and if anybody was with Zoë he would've chose Takuya.

But, some random guy that she hardly knew? And this Ryo guy seemed to be a pretty shifty character.

"I'm gonna go talk to her," JP said as he stood up, his mind completely off his missing truck.

"Wait, what?" Koichi responded in surprise.

"Cool, we'll go with you," Kazu added. JP, Kazu, and Kenta all began heading towards Zoë and Ryo.

"Guys, you can't just-"

But, they were already gone, with JP leading the pack.


	19. Olympus

It was nice getting to know Ryo. And Zoë couldn't believe some of the things she had already learned about him. In fact, she had learned some VERY interesting things about him.

"Uh … you won't say anything to anybody, will you?" Ryo asked. If he hadn't had such a confident façade, she could have sworn he was nervous.

She giggled at him. "Don't worry. I can keep a secret," Zoë smiled. "You don't have to worry about me telling anybody."

Ryo raised an eyebrow. "Not even …?"

"Of course not," Zoë smirked. "Nobody will know."

"Oh, that's great," Ryo sighed in relief. "You don't know how tough it was to get that off my chest."

"Don't worry about a thing. Nobody has to find out. Not until you give the word, anyway."

"Thanks, Z. You don't know how much that means to me."

Ryo leaned over and was about to kiss Zoë on the cheek. But before he did …

"Ahem…" The two of them turned towards to the sound of someone clearing their throat only to be greeted by JP, who stood somewhat ominously over them.

Zoë gave him a look of confusion, irritation, and surprise all wrapped up into one glare.

"JP? What are you doing?"

From behind JP's bulging body, Kazu and Kenta stuck their heads out, both smiling widely.

"Hey, Ryo!" Kazu exclaimed happily.

Zoë was even more surprised to see Kazu and Kenta with JP. It seemed like her perfect lunch date had been rudely interrupted.

"What do you guys want?!" Zoë couldn't help the way the outburst came out, but she was definitely getting annoyed at this point.

"Oh, nothing… we were… you know," JP started.

"No, I DON'T know," Zoë said before he could even finish. She was slowly becoming infuriated at the Three Stooges. She stood up from her seat. And her infuriated feeling soon became that of enraged when Kazu hopped right in it.

"Move ya feet, lose ya seat!" He said jokingly as he plopped in the seat across from Ryo, who merely chuckled amusingly.

"WHAT DO YOU GUYS WANT?!" Zoë snapped, but the only one who really seemed to be paying attention to her was Kenta, noticing the blonde's rising anger, feeling a very slight breeze along with it.

JP moved around Zoë and extended his hand to Ryo, offering a handshake. "Nice to meet you. I'm JP, one of- OW!"

He yelped in pain as Zoë grabbed him by his ear, dragging him away from Ryo before anything else could be said. She stopped when she reached the soda machines, turning and glaring a hole right into JP's skull.

If looks could kill, I'd probably be dead right now, JP thought to himself as he chuckled weakly.

"I see nothing funny! What is with you JP?"

"Nothing!"

"Something! You just randomly walk up to me and a friend, unannounced, and bring those two bums with you? For what?!"

JP turned and looked back at Ryo, who was still with Kazu and Kenta at the table. He frowned before turning back to Zoë.

"You guys seem friendly," JP said, sounding more like a question rather than a statement.

"Excuse me?"

"Just saying… you and that Ryo guy? Where'd that come from?"

Zoë's eyebrows ruffled, not entirely sure where JP was trying to go with this conversation.

"JP, cut to the chase. What are you trying to say to me?"

That's when JP realized that he had no real reason as to why he had just so suddenly hopped up and marched over to Zoë and Ryo's seemingly private luncheon. His feet had acted faster than his mind and now here he was, staring one of his closest friends dumb in the face.

JP continued to stand there, dumbfounded. Zoë was slowly becoming fed up, "Um, HELLO?"

He snapped out of his daze and back to reality, still unable to properly explain himself. "Did Takuya put you up to this?" Zoë insinuated. That's when JP somewhat panicked.

"Takuya?"

"Yes, Takuya! He DID put you up to this, didn't he?"

"No, Z! Takuya doesn't have anything to do with this."

"Well, neither did you but ONCE AGAIN, you guys have managed to butt your noses in where they do not belong!"

"Wait a minute, Zoë-"

"Save it. I'll just ask Takuya, myself," Zoë cut him off before he could even get a chance to explain himself any further. She stormed off, blonde hair swinging behind her.

JP looked after her, wanting to follow behind her, but a hand stopped him. He looked to see that the hand belonged to none other than Ryo.

"Trust me, bro. I've been here before. Just leave her."

The Warrior of Thunder wanted to shove this guy away. Luckily, though, his mind worked a tad faster than his body this time.

Zoë didn't even look back. She made a beeline for The Den exit. If JP had done anything wrong, it was embarrass her. But, her gut feeling immediately blamed Takuya for the whole debacle for some reason.

The boys that she grew up with, the other Legendary Warriors were always a bit overprotective of the only girl on the team. Particularly Takuya, considering the two of them dated for so long.

There wasn't even anything going on between her and Ryo, though, IT WAS JUST LUNCH. And to get the easily influenced JP involved was just…

She was going to have to set all them straight.

* * *

Tigrismon sighed in relief when he saw JP's truck parked exactly where they had left it. Tigrismon, himself, had no luck of getting information of Guilmon's whereabouts during their mission to Tamachi Technical University, but maybe his friends had better luck.

He slinked over to the truck, making sure that no stray passerby notices him. Once he was right behind the back of the truck, Tigrismon saw Azumon slithering over towards him. Albeit, with very little direction. The small dragon Digimon seemed to have been extremely dizzy.

"You okay?" Tigrismon asked.

"I hate laundry," Azumon replied bitterly.

"Did you have any luck finding about where Guilmon is?"

Azumon shook his head dejectedly. "None. How about you?"

Before Tigrismon could answer, a groggy Turtwigmon came marching up to them, the leaf on top of his head looking a bit ruffled than normal. "What's with you?" Azumon asked the turtle Digimon.

"Let's just say I hit the books harder than I ever intended," he replied. "How'd it go?"

Tigrismon and Azumon glanced wearily at each other, however, Zenithmon tromped over to them right on time so neither one of them had to break the bad news to him just yet. They all noticed that the bird Digimon was noticeably shivering.

"You okay?" Tigrismon asked.

"I accidentally got locked in a freezer," Zenithmon muttered, his beak chattering. "It was a good thing they came back for the meat. And the worst part is that I didn't even get to eat anything!"

"Did you find anything out about Guilmon?" Tigrismon asked.

Zenithmon shook his head. "I couldn't find a thing. Did you guys have better luck?"

Turtwigmon chimed in with his info. "I did find something out! Guilmon is being kept in one of the dorms… I found out right before I got knocked out by a book."

Tigrismon nodded. "We got a new place to look, then. Should we go or should we wait for Takuya and Terriermon?"

"Hey, where ARE those two, anyway?" Azumon pointed out.

Zenithmon gasped and jumped in surprise, looking off into the concrete pathway leading towards the dorms. "INCOMING!"

The four Sovereign Digimon saw a bicycle coming towards them through a crowd of students at an EXTREMELY fast speed. And tumbling right after the bike was a mob of large, tattooed muscled guys. A closer look showed the rider to be none other than Takuya, with Terriermon gripping tightly onto his goggles perched on his head. Guilmon was trying to balance himself on the back of the bike, but in actuality was doing the exact opposite. Takuya rode right at the edge of the concrete walkway before they were launched into the air.

The front bike tire slammed back to the ground, but the force of the impact caused Terriermon to lose his grip from Takuya's head and he fell to the pavement with a roll.

Guilmon cried out frantically when he looked back and saw the mob of muscle-heads STILL giving chase. Takuya couldn't stop. If he did, the tattooed Tamachi Tech jocks would pound their faces in for sure.

Tigrismon's eyes widened when he saw Takuya pick up speed, heading right for the Sovereign Digimon. "GET OUTTA THE WAY!" He yelled at them, the same time Tigrismon shouting, "SCATTER!"

Everyone dove in different directions as Takuya and Guilmon drove right past them, the mob STILL right on their heels.

Terriermon watched them helplessly ride away. The Sovereign Digimon ran up to him in a flurry.

"Terriermon, WHAT IS GOING ON?" Zenithmon asked frantically.

Terriermon got off the ground, still watching after the disappearing forms of the bike with the cloud the mob left behind still tailing them. "Guilmon and Takuya are done for if they stop," he said quietly to himself.

"Who were those guys?" Turtwigmon asked.

"Why are they chasing you?" Tigrismon questioned, the same time as Turtwigmon.

Azumon was a bit more sarcastic with his question. "What did you do?"

"If we don't go after them, Guilmon and Takuya are gonna get beat to a pulp!" Terriermon exclaimed.

"But… HOW are we gonna go after them? I'm pretty sure Takuya had the keys to the truck on him," Zenithmon pointed out.

A wry grin formed on Terriermon's lips. He showed his friends a set of car keys dangling from the end of his long ear.

The Sovereigns were jubilant; the prankster always had a backup plan in mind when things were to go astray. Maybe he had to, though, especially when he had a knack for getting himself into sticky situations such as this one.

Tigrismon glanced over to see that the dust had settled from Takuya's wild ride and people were beginning to investigate the path of destruction. If they delayed any longer they would be discovered.

Rushing over to the truck, not wanting to be seen, Terriermon yanked the driver seat door open with his ear and let the four Sovereign Digimon file inside before he did, himself.

Shutting the door, Terriermon realized he would need a little boost to reach the steering wheel. "Turtwigmon, gimme a boost."

The turtle Digimon frowned at his friend. "Well, since you asked so nicely," he muttered with sarcasm. But, nonetheless, he allowed for Terriermon to step on the back of his shell, which was the extra boost he needed to get to the steering wheel.

It didn't take long for Zenithmon to understand what Terriermon was getting ready to do. "Terriermon … you're not about to do what I THINK you're about to do … are you?"

"Yup," the long-eared Digimon said casually.

Zenithmon sweatdropped. "You've never driven a car before!"

That got the other three worried. "You're about to drive?!" Azumon asked nervously.

Terriermon waved his hands in a dismissive manner. "Momentai, guys. I've seen Henry driving for years. How hard could it be?"

Tigrismon still wasn't convinced. "I don't know… JP would be really mad if he found out-"

"Listen, we don't really have time for anymore chit-chat! Guilmon and Takuya will be in serious trouble if that mob of tattooed freaks catches them," Terriermon cut him. "How many times do I have to say that before it starts sinking in?"

It only took a second for Tigrismon to nod his head in determination, now completely down with Terriermon's crazy idea. Then, again, this entire mission was crazy to begin with. "Okay, let's do it!"

"I'm in!" Azumon said.

Zenithmon was still a little wary, but said nothing. Turtwigmon strained from underneath Terriermon's feet. "Whatever you guys are gonna do, do it quick!"

"Alright, Tigrismon, hit the gas!" Terriermon ordered as he stuck the keys into the ignition and started up the car. Tigrismon looked at the gas and brake pedals in confusion. "Which one is the gas?"

"The smaller one!"

Tigrismon pounded on the gas pedal … and the truck promptly slammed into the car in front of them. Terriermon sweatdropped and put the truck in reverse.

"Uh… gas!"

Tigrismon pounded on the gas again… and this time hit another car with the rear fender. Terriermon sweatdropped once more. He put the car in drive.

"Uh… gas! But don't put so much oomph in it!"

Tigrismon slowly pressed on the gas as the truck began to drive away. They went from one rescue mission to another, this one direr than the last. For if they couldn't get to Guilmon and Takuya in time, JP's truck would be the LEAST of their problems.

* * *

Izzy had given Talley and her undercover government agent buddies his word that he wouldn't say anything about them being undercover agents. And he intended to keep his word. He had no intention of revealing his secret to his friends or anyone for that matter. But, he definitely needed to say something. At first, he contemplated if he should contact Thomas and see if the two of them could work together in flushing out the mole that was supposedly infiltrating Digimon into the Real World. The teenage professor was hard to get in touch with, however.

So for now, Izzy found himself in Sora and Mimi's room. Sora was still trying to dress up Biyomon and Palmon, hoping to get that children's line of clothing out sooner than later while Mimi was mixing up some kind of concoction inside a bowl. Joe was also there with them, one of the few times that he found himself relaxing with his friends instead of stressing over the stresses of going through his Grad. And right along with him was… Gomamon. Like Izzy, Joe couldn't seem to keep his Digimon in the Digital World.

Mimi finished mixing up her batter. "Ok, Sora, I finally finished!"

Sora turned around and sweatdropped. "Mimi, you didn't really go through with that, did you?"

Mimi nodded. "You bet I did! It's my own homemade shampoo! Years of treating my hair with the most advanced in hair care technology has encouraged me to make something myself. And today, I finally finished! And lucky for you, you get to be the first to try it!"

Sora gulped. "Mimi … are you sure that stuff is safe?"

"Sora, I included only the finest ingredients. And besides, I had Joe here to help me out. Isn't that right, Joe?"

"Well, I did have a couple of original additions to add to the batter."

"Ingredients like what?" Sora asked curiously.

"Well, most of the best shampoos get their best ingredients from animals. I decided to try something a little different. I got my ingredients from Digimon."

That intrigued Izzy. "Digimon? How did you pull that off?"

"I managed to pick some fur off of Gabumon's coat during my last trip to the Digital World. And it's as stable as any horsehair … at least I think it is. It IS untested, but… we all know how neat and clean Gabumon keeps his coat, so you should be just fine."

Sora thought about it, reluctantly, of course. "Is this really worth being a guinea pig?"

"Sora, I'm your best friend! I would never do anything that would harm you in any way," Mimi smiled. "You can trust me."

Sora gave the brunette one last hesitant smirk before nodding her head. "Ok, you talked me into it."

Mimi didn't need to be told twice. She whipped out a towel and started mixing the batter into Sora's hair.

As much as Izzy wanted to say something to his friends about that meeting with Yamaki, he knew he couldn't tell them EVERYTHING. But then Izzy realized that he had only promised to keep their secret about being undercover. He never said anything about not trying to help out if he could. And maybe he and the DigiDestined could lend a hand.

"Guys, there's something you all should know," Izzy began.

"And what's that, Izzy?" Joe asked curiously.

"I… may have stumbled onto some information about these recent Digimon attacks. They aren't just a coincidence. Somebody's been bringing the Digimon to our world."

"Well… I kinda figured that, Izzy," Mimi sighed. "I mean, even *I* may be a bit slow sometimes, but it doesn't exactly take a computer genius to figure out that Digimon can't come here on their own."

"It's more to it than that, though," Izzy continued. "I found out that whoever is bringing the Digimon here … is from this school!"

Mimi stopped her lathering. "You mean a student?"

"It could very well be a student," Izzy answered. "But we don't even have a vague description to work with. For all we know, it could be a student or a professor or even the janitor. The only piece of information we have is that somebody on this campus is a mole. Whoever that mole is, is somehow connected with the Digimon that have been attacking. And they could be bringing in more soon."

"Who do you think it could it be?" Sora asked.

"I haven't got a single idea where to start," Izzy admitted. "I was hoping one of you might have noticed anything suspicious."

Just then, someone knocked on the door. The door slowly opened. "Ladies, can I come in?"

The Digimon all froze when they saw Resident Director, Ms. Mackenzie, stick her head in the door.

"Sure thing, Ms. Mackenzie," Mimi said as she kept lathering Sora's hair.

Ms. Mackenzie walked in and looked around, surveying the area. "I just wanted to give you all a heads up on this rivalry week. It looks like tensions are getting very high, as you may have noticed with what happened at the gym. If you notice anything suspicious in this hall, feel free to exercise your power as an RA or alert me."

"No worries. We will, Ms. Mackenzie," Sora replied.

Ms. Mackenzie suddenly noticed Tentomon beside the couch and picked him up. She gave him a long stare, as if she noticed something suspicious about him.

"I really must admit that these are very strange stuffed animals you all have. They're so lifelike."

"That's the way they're made these days," Izzy chuckled nervously.

"Well, I'd better head out to alert the RA's downstairs. Have a good day, ladies."

Ms. Mackenzie walked out and Tentomon breathed a sigh of relief. Izzy hadn't noticed, but Joe never took his eyes off her.

"That's MY suspect," he finally said.

"You suspect our RD?" Mimi asked skeptically.

"I don't know… there's just something weird about her," Joe explained. "When I first bumped into her, I couldn't help but notice that weird stare she gave Gomamon. It was the same stare she just gave to Tentomon. And when I went to get my Digivice from her the other day, it was as if she knew something about it. It's like there's some weird aura about her."

"So what do you think we should do?" Mimi asked.

"That's easy enough," Joe replied. "We get the Digimon to inspect her room and see if they find anything on her."

Sora's eyes widened. "You want them to spy on her?"

"I'm sure Gomamon is more than up to it," Joe said assuredly.

"No, Gomamon is NOT up to it," Gomamon cut in. "Joe, I've seen the way she looks at me. It's like she knows what I am or something. I don't want to risk her catching me in her room."

Mimi finished lathering Sora's hair. "Ok, all done! Now put this on your head and leave it there until tomorrow. In the morning, I promise you'll have the most BEAUTIFUL hair!"

Sora took a towel and wrapped it around her head. Meanwhile, Izzy decided to get another target to spy on Ms. Mackenzie.

"What about you, Tentomon?"

"I've already been in enough trouble this year," Tentomon piped up. "Don't ask me to go on any espionage missions."

"Then who else can we get?" Izzy wondered.

A light bulb appeared over Joe's head. He peered over towards the mirror. Everyone turned his or her heads to see what Joe was seeing. They all started to stare at the two who were trying on clothes in front of the mirror.

"Does this dress make me look fat?" Biyomon asked.

"Oh, no. It's SO you," Palmon assured her.

Suddenly, they both froze in their tracks. They turned around and when they noticed that all eyes were on them, the two Rookie-level Digimon sweatdropped.

Biyomon gulped. "Uh … why are you looking at us like that?"

Sora smiled. "We have a job for you two…"

* * *

Takuya pedaled as if his life depended on it. And when he took a swift glance behind him, he realized that it actually did.

"Man, do these guys ever give up?!" He shouted, fighting against the sharp pain in his legs that was threatening to take over his entire body. The extra weight of Guilmon behind him slowed the bike down tremendously, and the tattooed muscle-heads were not giving up anytime soon. It was like they were on steroids; Takuya couldn't believe that they were still chasing them.

"Geez, these guys take this rivalry thing seriously," Takuya remarked as he made sharp left turn into some bushes. But, what he didn't see was the steep hill that was behind those bushes.

Takuya's eyes widened in shock as Guilmon cried out, "Takuya, this game isn't fun anymore!"

The bike gained momentum as it went down the hill and a crazy fast speed. Takuya screamed, hanging onto the handlebars as tight as possible. He figured Guilmon had the same idea, squeezing the life out of his stomach as he latched onto the goggle boy with his eyes shut tight, yelling all the same.

The front tire began to shake uncontrollably, Takuya not even really able to steer the bike in the direction that he wanted anymore.

Before either of them knew it, the bike hit a rock that was jutted out from the ground, causing it to flip and Takuya and Guilmon fell to the dirt and down the rest of the hill.

Once he rolled his last roll, laid flat on his for a moment. He wasn't sure if he was actually hurt or just in shock.

Before he could shake off the cobwebs of the fall, Guilmon stood up, the red dinosaur's eyes were dilated and a feral growl was coming from his throat.

"Guilmon…?" Takuya began to question.

Guilmon's stance was ready and he growled at the shrubbery of small tress nearby. Takuya followed his line of sight and at first did not see anything.

Slowly, however, a familiar figure revealed itself to them. D'Arcmon.

D'Arcmon was a winged Digimon that had become very familiar to Takuya in more ways than one he realized.

He first saw a D'Arcmon during his first visit to the Digital World, when it was under siege by Fanglongmon. Although it wasn't really an actual D'Arcmon, but Murmukusmon posing as a D'Arcmon.

The winged Digimon stared them down, Guilmon growling ferociously at it. D'Arcmon stepped closer, Guilmon took a step back.

Takuya wasn't sure whether to attack or what. D'Arcmon didn't seem as if it was looking for a fight, but Guilmon was not backing down.

"Warrior of Flame…" D'Arcmon said, her voice seeming to echo around them.

THAT surprised Takuya. And then he remembered where else he saw this winged creature.

Just recently, after he, Growlmon, and ExVeemon sent a rampaging MasterTyrannomon back to the Digital World, he came back to his room later that same night. And a person with wings had tried to take Tigrismon directly right from under his nose.

Of course, at the time he wasn't able to see them because they were covered in darkness.

D'Arcmon must have been the culprit. She must have broken into his room, trying to kidnap Tigrismon. But… why?

At that moment, D'Arcmon pulled out a long staff with a green jewel in the middle of it, and pointed it at Takuya and Guilmon. "**La Pucelle**!"

A beam of energy sprouted from the staff, nearly hitting Guilmon and Takuya. The Warrior of Flame dodged out the way swiftly, ducking behind a tree. Guilmon was not so easy to scurry away. "**Pyro Sphere**!"

Guilmon retaliated with his own attack, nearly striking D'Arcmon had she not jumped on top of a tree branch high up. Guilmon was relentless, though. "**Pyro Sphere**!"

Fire spheres were shot from Guilmon's mouth, burning away the tree branch D'Arcmon was standing on mere seconds before.

D'Arcmon swiftly dodged every single Pyro Sphere attack Guilmon threw at her, nearly wrecking all the vegetation within the immediate area. She lifted her staff again, flying right towards Guilmon.

"**La Pucelle**!"

With the staff pointed straight at Guilmon's face, the energy beam was a direct hit, knocking Guilmon flat on his back.

Guilmon stumbled over, unable to get back up after D'Arcmon toward over him, placing the bottom of her staff on his stomach. "Stand down, Beast of Hazard!"

She turned towards Takuya, who was silently watching, clutching his D-Tector, which was placed in his pocket. D'Arcmon turned away from Guilmon, staring down Takuya with hate.

"What do you want?!" Takuya shouted at the Digimon fearlessly, although he was literally nervous as all get out.

"I think you know why I have come… Warrior of Flame."

"How do you know me?"

"Oh, my Master has informed me of you and your allies. Such as that foul beast," she gestured towards the stunned Guilmon.

"Your Master? Is your Master responsible for all these Digimon appearing in the Real World?"

D'Arcmon frowned slightly at him. She was becoming inflamed, he could tell. "My Master has nothing to do with the recent Digimon attacks on the Real World. Although I have to say… the timing was impeccable."

Takuya raised an eyebrow. D'Arcmon raised her staff and pointed it at him. "Enough talk! Now give me what I came for or face being destroyed!"

He clutched onto his D-Tector even tighter. "I can't give you what you want if you don't tell me what it is."

"Stop with the games! Where are the Sovereigns?!"

Takuya knew that the Sovereigns were what she came for. Gennai had already told them that groups of Digimon have formed factions and groups and were willing to bring the Sovereigns back by force if they have to. Well if it's a fight they want…

"Sorry to disappoint you, but… they aren't even with me," Takuya answered smugly, a wry grin on his face.

"Lies! **Dancing Swords**!"

D'Arcmon sheathed a sword from her back and threw it at Takuya. His eyes widened when he saw that the sword seemingly multiplied into three more, making four swords coming directly at him. He pulled out his D-Tector in record time.

****Execute … Spirit Evolution … Agunimon!****

In Takuya's place stood the tall and proud Warrior of Flame, Agunimon. He jumped out of the way of the swords as the original stuck right in a tree behind him, the other three disappearing immediately. D'Arcmon's demeanor did not falter, though. In fact, she looked a little more annoyed.

"Disgusting…" she muttered. "Humans turning into Digimon… you don't deserve the power of the Legendary Warriors," D'Arcmon shouted, rushing Agunimon instantaneously.

Not wanting to take any chances, Agunimon fired. "**Pyro Punch**!"

Flames spurted from his fists, singeing the tip of one of D'Arcmon's four wings. She seethed in pain, before sheathing another sword from her back.

"Ah man. How many of those things you got back there?" Agunimon managed to quip before D'Arcmon unleashed another attack at him. "**Dancing Swords**!"

One sword turned into six this time, each coming at Agunimon in different speeds.

He dodged three of them with outstanding finesse, but he mistimed his steps and one nearly slashed his foot. He fell on his butt, D'Arcmon standing right over him with another sword pointed at his throat.

She glared right into the warrior's eyes. "I can't believe the Sovereigns entrusted HUMANS with the spirits of the Legendary Warriors. Desperate times cause for desperate measures, I guess."

Agunimon wanted to snap a remark back at her, but the sword was getting closer and closer to his throat.

"Now, where are they?" D'Arcmon's glare was becoming ever-more menacing; the sword continually getting closer to his neck.

"Even if I knew, I would never tell you."

D'Arcmon became somewhat impressed at his bravery. Just a tad, not by much. "Your courage is notable, Warrior of Flame. The Olympus Twelve were right about that much."

"Olympus Twelve?" Agunimon questioned.

Before D'Arcmon could give him an answer, a large car beep came out of nowhere.

Agunimon looked up and saw JP's truck come barreling down the hill that he and Guilmon rolled down, heading directly towards D'Arcmon and Agunimon.

And who was behind the driver's seat is what stunned the Flame Warrior even more. Terriermon, the driver, was screaming madly as he lost control of the truck.

The vehicle hit the bottom of the hill, did a slight bounce, and came right at D'Arcmon, her eyes NOW becoming wide with fright and surprise.

Just as it seemed that the truck was going to collide with D'Arcmon, she vanished; doing the same disappearing act Agunimon had seen Renamon do a couple of times. The truck bounced right over Agunimon, who was laid out, and hit a tree head on.

Fractal Code surrounded Agunimon, Takuya standing in his place. He jumped on his feet, dashing towards the truck. He glanced over at Guilmon for a brief second to see if he was still alright. The dinosaur was still dazed, but other than that fine.

He reached JP's pickup truck and saw the huge dent where the hood struck the tree. Not to mention the many bumps and dents on the truck throughout. "JP is gonna kill me…"

Terriermon stirred, picking his head up from the steering wheel. He groaned in pain. Takuya saw that the Digimon Sovereigns were roughed up, as well.

His eyes falling on the Sovereigns, he suddenly remembered D'Arcmon. He twirled around, scanning the area for the winged Digimon. She was nowhere to be found.

Nervousness began to creep back to him, so before D'Arcmon decided to show herself again, he went and helped Guilmon climb in the back of the pickup.

"Scoot," he said to Terriermon, who was still groggy from the crash. He started the car up, but he sweatdropped when it stalled on him. "Great," he grumbled before casting a vexed look Terriermon's way.

"Hey, don't look at me like that," Terriermon retorted. "From the looks of it, I saved your neck. Literally."

Takuya rolled his eyes before turning the key, once more. He was thrilled when the truck roared back to life. He backed the damaged truck away from the tree and started heading down a dirt path leading back to the main road.

While he was definitely worried about what he was going to tell JP about his truck, Takuya had something completely different on his mind.

From the looks of it… it was two groups attacking him and his friends for two different reasons. He needed to let the others know. Their hands just seemed to have gotten a lot fuller.

* * *

Takato squeezed a stress ball as hard as he could. A long time had passed and there was still nothing that indicated that Guilmon would be coming back. Kazu and Kenta had really messed up this time. If Takato never saw Guilmon again, he would never forgive them.

Usually at this point, Henry would cut in and try to calm him down. But Henry had worries of his own. Terriermon was nowhere in sight. And after the events of the last few days, it was likely that Terriermon was off causing mischief somewhere. Takato was frankly surprised that Henry didn't have a head full of gray hair by now with the way Terriermon had been keeping himself busy. Maybe Guilmon was out a lot, but he hardly ever created problems for Takato.

Then Takato came to his senses. This was a HUGE problem. Guilmon was stuck on a strange campus and since Takato was relatively new in town, he didn't know where to find it.

"Where is he?" Henry muttered.

"He's stuck… stuck somewhere all alone on a strange campus, Henry," Takato said sadly. "Poor Guilmon. He must be so scared right now … and hungry…"

"I'm talking about Terriermon!" Henry growled. "If I find out he's trying to commit another prank…"

"I think Terriermon's learned his lesson with pranks … for now, anyway," Takato thought. "But that IS pretty weird. Where would he run off to?" Just then, he heard someone knock on the door. Takato couldn't help but chuckle. "Maybe that's him."

Takato walked over to answer the door, but before he made it, the door opened and smashed his nose.

"Silly me," the voice behind the door said. "I almost forgot you guys always keep the door unlocked."

Takato rubbed his nose painfully. "Yeah, I'm not surprised, Davis."

"Any word about Guilmon?" Davis asked.

"Nothing yet," Henry answered. "But I've got a bad feeling about this. I haven't seen Terriermon all day and I think something might have happened."

"HI!"

"AAH!"

Terriermon popped up out of nowhere by the window, sending Henry tumbling back. Terriermon had an awfully big grin on his face in light of the situation.

"And where have YOU been?" Henry asked curtly.

"Making things right again," Terriermon replied cheerfully.

"What do you mean?" Takato asked.

As if on cue, another knock at their door caught everyone's attention. Terriermon motioned for someone to answer it as Davis walked idly over to the doorknob. He turned it and the people behind it took a huge weight off Takato's shoulders.

"Guilmon!"

Takuya was standing there with Guilmon sitting in a large shopping cart. They entered the room and Takato immediately started running over to his partner, but Guilmon leapt over first and knocked Takato over. Much like Dino and Fred Flintstone, Guilmon tackled Takato and started licking his face uncontrollably.

Takato finally composed himself. "Guilmon, are you ok?"

"I'm fine, Takatomon. It wasn't so bad there, but it's nice to be back. And I wouldn't be back if it wasn't for Terriermon and Takuyamon. They came all the way to Tamachi Tech to pick me up."

"I owe you guys one," Takato smiled at Takuya and Terriermon. "How'd you do it? How did you manage to get him back?"

"It wasn't hard," Takuya shrugged.

"Guilmon's right. It wasn't THAT BAD for him. He was being too busy being pampered by cheerleaders to even notice," Terriermon cracked.

Takuya's face became a lot more serious, as if something was bothering him. "I gotta tell you guys something," he said gravely.

Takato, Henry, and Davis perked up. "What is it?" Henry asked.

"We were attacked. By another Digimon."

"WHAT?!" Takuya's three friends cried simultaneously.

"Yeah. A D'Arcmon. She said she was working for somebody named the Olympus Twelve."

"Olympus Twelve?" Henry repeated. He turned towards Terriermon.

"Terriermon, does that name sound familiar?"

"I haven't heard of anyone named that or even close to it."

"So, wait a minute… are these Olympus Twelve guys responsible for the other Digimon attacks, too?" Takato asked.

"When I asked her about it, she made it seem like they were unrelated. But… I do know one thing. Whoever these Olympus Twelve guys are… they want the Sovereigns," Takuya explained.

That struck a nerve to the other three humans in the room.

"Gennai did say that there were groups of Digimon trying to bring the Sovereigns back," Davis said. "So the Olympus Twelve was the groups he was talking about."

"Whatever the case may be, we have to be EXTRA precautious now," Henry said. "Sounds like these Olympus Twelve characters are a by any means necessary bunch."

"I don't think its safe for them all to be in the same place, anymore," Takuya suggested.

"So what are you gonna do?" Davis asked.

Takuya already had a plan forming in his head. "I'm just gonna have to separate them. I'll send one of them back home to Shibuya for Tommy to look after. Give two more to Zoë and JP."

Someone banged on the door on cue. The four boys turned to look, wondering who it could be. The person pounded on the door again, this time a voice accompanying it. "Open up, Takuya! I'm gonna break your face!"

It was JP. Takuya sweatdropped nervously. "Oh, man! JP, look I can explain!"

JP banged on the door again. "Open the door!"

"It IS open," Davis said matter-of-factly. Takuya glared at him as JP slammed through the door, bum rushing him. He snatched Takuya up by his collar, nearly shaking him.

"What did you do to my truck?!"

"Don't blame me! Terriermon was the one who drove it!"

"Hey!" Terriermon cried indignantly. "Thanks a lot."

Henry turned to his partner in disbelief. "You drove his TRUCK?! YOU DROVE?!"

JP continued to shake Takuya by his collar. "You let a Digimon DRIVE MY CAR?! It's bad enough I let you borrow it with no license and then your gonna let a DIGIMON drive it!"

Terriermon didn't like where this was going at all. "Need I remind you guys that Takuya was about to get his head sliced off by warrior princess? The Olympus Twelve, HELLO?"

JP stopped shaking Takuya at that statement, having heard what Terriermon had said. "Head sliced? You fought another Digimon?"

"I was gonna get to that. Could you put me down?" Takuya griped. JP furrowed his brows before placing Takuya on his feet. He frowned at him and Terriermon. "You are fixing my truck!"

"Too bad Digimon can't work," Terriermon cracked, but he regretted it as soon as he saw the look Henry cast his way. It was none too friendly.

"What am I going to do with you, Terriermon?" Henry remarked, sounding like an exasperated parent.

Terriermon grinned sheepishly. "Whatever you have to do, Henry. Just as long as it doesn't involve me going home with Lopmon."

Henry looked like a frustrated parent desperately searching for a way to discipline his child. This year was certainly making the relationship between Henry and Terriermon a rocky one.

Takato watched all of this play out with great entertainment along with Davis. While Takuya updated JP on the situation with the Digimon attack, Takato came to the conclusion that Henry is a pretty resourceful guy and he would find a way to deal with Terriermon.

And hopefully it would be something more creative than grounding him.

* * *

"What do you mean I'm grounded?!"

Everyone sweatdropped when they heard that from Henry. Everyone except JP, who was lamenting over his car. There were dents all over the place and the front door had fallen off. The fender and bumper were hanging by a thread. His insurance rates were sure to go through the roof.

Takuya stood off to the side somewhat nonchalantly next to Davis, who was in awe at the damage done to JP's pickup truck. The four small Digimon Sovereigns were in the back of the truck, smiling sheepishly at the guys.

"You're grounded," Henry reiterated. "Terriermon, look what you did to JP's truck! I don't want to send you home, but I can't just let you do something like this and get off scot-free."

"But I saved Guilmon! And Agunimon! Doesn't that count for anything?"

"And we all appreciate it. But you're still grounded!"

JP just pounded the pavement. "This has been officially the worst day ever. First Zoë snaps on me, now this!"

That piqued Takuya's interests. "Zoë snapped on you?"

JP looked over at him tears nearly forming in his eyes.

Somebody whistled from the distance. "Wow! Look at that car wreck."

The group turned to see Koichi and Koji, the two twin brothers shaking their head morosely at JP's totaled truck.

"I hate to say it JP but… you really had no business loaning Takuya your car and he had no license. You guys do remember that he lost it because of aggressive driving, right?"

"Put a sock in it Koji! Nobody asked you!" Takuya barked.

Koichi walked over to JP, who couldn't hold it back any longer. He burst into tears.

Takuya sneered over at Koji before walking over to JP, as well.

"Uh… JP?" Takuya started timidly.

JP moved his hands from his face, tears streaking down his cheeks.

"Do you mind looking after Turtwigmon for awhile? You know… until we get handle on this whole thing?"

Through sniffs and snivels, JP managed to shake his head in acknowledgement.

"Why is JP looking after Turtwigmon?" Koichi asked.

"Somebody's after the Sovereigns. So Takuya thinks that the best thing now is for them to be in separate places. Harder for someone to get them all in one swoop."

"Somebody's after us?" Tigrismon piped up.

"Wait a minute. What do you mean 'somebody'?" Koji intervened.

"Somebody like the groups Izzy said that Gennai warned him about," Takuya replied. "The Olympus Twelve."

Koichi and Koji exchanged worried glances.

"Olympus Twelve?" Koichi repeated.

"A D'Arcmon attacked me on my way back from Tamachi Tech. She said she was looking for the Sovereigns and she worked for somebody who calls themselves the Olympus Twelve."

"So …" Koji began. "Do they have anything to do with the recent Digimon appearances?"

"According to her, she says its just 'impeccable timing'."

Koji frowned, not believing her one bit. "One lucky guess she's lying."

Henry nodded, agreeing. "Takuya said the same thing."

"Which is why I think we should split the Sovereigns up. Tigrismon stays with us. Turtwigmon can go with JP, and Azumon can go back home with Tommy-"

"Ah, but Takuya, I don't wanna go home!" Azumon interjected in a whiny tone.

"Well, get over it. Bokomon would knock me silly if he found out that something happened to you guys," Takuya scolded the Digimon. Then, he turned back to Koji and Koichi. "And Zenithmon can go to…"

He started to say that Zoë will keep Zenithmon, but a crying JP brought him back to something he heard the Warrior of Thunder say earlier.

"Hey, JP. Why did Zoë snap on you? What did you do?"

JP began crying even harder at the mere mention of Zoë. Koichi sweatdropped.

"I told you not to interrupt her," Koichi said to JP. Takuya turned to him, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Interrupt her doing what?"

Koichi nearly started, but he realized who was asking.

Even though they weren't together, Takuya and Zoë still had feelings for each other. Even if both of them were too stubborn to admit. And Takuya finding out that Zoë had lunch with another guy would undoubtedly cause for another blowup between the two. Koichi wanted to be the last person responsible for that. Koji, however, decided he wanted to be the first person responsible for it.

"Zoë was having lunch with that Ryo guy and snapped on JP for interrupting her," he simply stated.

Takuya was at first taken aback by the news, but quickly caught his composure.

"Lunch, huh?"

Koichi got nervous when he saw Takuya walk over to the box full of Digimon Sovereigns, picking Zenithmon up in his arms gently.

"Takuya?"

The Warrior of Fire smiled his lopsided smile, before patting JP on the back. "No worries, JP, buddy. I'll go and sort all this out with Z when I drop Zenithmon off at her place."

"Shouldn't you call first?" Koichi suggested.

"Nah. Think I'm gonna… surprise her."

"Well, that sounds like a great idea!" Koji said, although his sarcasm completely went over Takuya's head, who took as Koji giving him a boost of confidence. Koichi just glared at his brother's instigations.

"Definitely! I'll catch up with you guys later."

Takuya began to walk back to the freshman apartment dorms, Zenithmon in tow.

Koji snickered at Takuya's disappearing form.

"Koji, what you do that for?" Koichi chided.

"Because its funny. We all know Takuya is gonna blow it out of proportion, just like Thunder Boy did," Koji exclaimed, referring to JP. "Besides, I highly doubt anything is going on between Z and that Ryo guy."

Takato, who was quiet for a while now, chimed in, "I don't know… Ryo always had a certain charm with girls."

Koichi worriedly looked after Takuya. Even if there wasn't anything going on between her and Ryo… Zoë was not going to be happy about being questioned about it for the second time, especially not by Takuya.

* * *

In the central continent of the Digital World, the former continent that Fanglongmon once ruled and waged over, D'Arcmon took to the sky, her wing still a bit burned from her previous battle with Agunimon.

Everything that they told her about the Digimon Sovereign's guardians, the Legendary Warriors, had turned out to be true.

They were not going to let the Sovereigns come back without a fight. But, if it was fight they were looking for, then it was a fight they were going to get.

After all, the current Legendary Warriors were in fact still humans when it all boils down to it.

And, yes, it is true that humans have done an enormous amount of good for the Digital World, but at the end of the day Digital World affairs should be handled by Digimon.

It was the humans who massacred so many Digimon just recently. Deleting innocent Digimon left and right, vandalizing the ancient ruins of King Drasil.

The humans would be no help for this threat. The Olympus Twelve would be more than enough.

Especially if the rumors were true of the return of the Black Gears. And from what her Master has told her… the Dark Masters are attempting to make a comeback.

The Sovereigns were needed, now more than ever. Humans would never be able to understand that.

D'Arcmon continued to fly through the skies of the central continent of the Digital World, getting ever so closer to her destination.

And in just a few more minutes of flying and gathering her thoughts, she came upon it. The underground cavern of the ninth member of the Olympus Twelve, Minervamon.

The Olympus Twelve consisted of twelve Mega-level Digimon who rose in power in the five years of Lucemon's defeat and the Digimon Sovereigns reverting back into their Rookie forms.

Minervamon, along with the eleven other Olympian Digimon have just know decided to show themselves to the Digital World in the wake of the recent dangerous string of events that have been happening. But, they had an array of loyal volunteer Digimon followers, like D'Arcmon.

D'Arcmon is Minervamon's one and only bodyguard. The Digimon of wisdom was plenty capable of handling things on her own, so she didn't feel the need to have a thousand and one bodyguards doing her dirty work for her. One willing and able Digimon was enough. And D'Arcmon had just enough passion as a hundred Digimon. Maybe even too much.

She flew down to the entrance of the cavern, noticing something off about as soon as she walked in.

Burn marks scorched the stoned walls. Rocks were shattered all along the floor, which had cracks and the crevices seemed to have grew. Almost as if a fierce battle had just been fought.

Before walking deeper into the cavern of Minervamon's hideaway, she unsheathed a sword from her back, prepping herself for any impending attack.

She stalked into the dark cavern, heading down towards a flight of stairs. Or what was left of it. The steps had broken away after the sixth one, nothing but air the rest of the way.

Something definitely went down here. She floated down deeper into the hideaway, and was met with a horrific sight.

Minervamon was laid out; her giant sword, Olympia, lay haphazardly next to her. She was brutally injured, unable to move.

D'Arcmon rushed over to her in a flash. "Master Minervamon!"

She leaned down to the pigtailed warrior, her usually cheerful and childlike face filled with emptiness. Her breath was ragged and short. "D'Arc… D'Arcmon …?" Minervamon managed to whisper out.

"Master Minervamon… are you alright?"

Minervamon managed to smile at D'Arcmon, making the winged Digimon tear up. She knew what was about to happen. But, she didn't know if she wanted to believe it.

"Did you… find the Sovereigns?"

"I did. I know where they are. Master… what happened?"

Minervamon's light smile faded. "D'Arcmon… we're all… in danger."

"What?"

"The… Digimon Empress."

D'Arcmon's eyes widened in fear. "She was here?!"

"Replica… of… Knight of Hazard…" Minervamon's breaths were becoming much shorter. D'Arcmon couldn't believe this was all happening. She struggled to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall down her face.

Minervamon grabbed one of D'Arcmon's hands tightly, her last remaining strength.

"Go… go to Merukimon. You must stop… save the Digital World."

Minervamon looked directly into D'Arcmon's eyes, a single tear drop falling down her face before she disappeared into bits of Data.

D'Arcmon's watched in shock as Minervamon disintegrated in front of her very eyes. The tears began to roll, but she was silent.

Her Master… the one who had took her in when the group of humans destroyed and deleted nearly everyone from her village… her only friend. Gone in an instant.

Minervamon was the closest thing D'Arcmon had to family. And like her actual family… she was now gone.

The Digimon Empress. The rumors were true, then. Minervamon informed her that her and the other members of the Olympus Twelve suspected that a copycat of the infamous Digimon Emporer was running around kidnapping Digimon.

But… a replica of the Knight of Hazard? Everyone knew of the prophecy of the Beast of Hazard. The creature had almost turned the entire Digital World into a wormhole six years ago, right before the D-Reaper emerged.

If this 'Digimon Empress' has a replica of a creature capable of that kind of power than it was clear that this human had no idea what they were messing with.

Humans. Always causing trouble.

D'Arcmon wiped the tears from her face and stood up, eyes now filled with fiery determination.

Minervamon had told her to go to Merukimon, the eighth member of the Olympus Twelve, Digimon of genius.

She would let Merukimon that the situation has gotten much more urgent. They needed the Sovereigns to return from the Real World and fast. The entire Digital World needed them.

* * *

Takuya knocked for a third time on the door to Zoë's apartment dorm room and had gotten no answer.

Zenithmon, tucked away in Takuya's arms, innocently looked up at him. "Maybe no one's home?"

Just as Takuya was about to give up, the door opened, a worn Kari Kamiya greeting him.

"Hey, Kari!" Takuya greeted cheerfully, flashing her his trademark smile.

Kari warmly returned the smile, seeming genuinely happy to see him. "Hey, Takuya! Missed you in class today."

Takuya had completely forgotten that he skipped class today! Through all the excitement he just didn't have time to think about Calculus. He certainly needed too, however. They had a project due!

"Ah, man! I know… I had to take care of a few things earlier," he said.

She just smirked at him. "Uh huh."

Then, a light bulb flashed over Takuya's head. "Actually, though… I did want to talk to you."

"Really? About what?"

"So… you know that paper that we have for Professor Marquez's class, right?"

"I do. I haven't really started it, myself."

"Yeah, well… I haven't started it all."

Kari giggled, not even really meaning to. Takuya couldn't help but notice how cute she was. Davis certainly was lucky with this one.

"Maybe we could… I don't know… partner up?" Takuya suggested.

Kari curiously raised an eyebrow at him, her smile never fading. Takuya quickly tried to cover up his tracks. "You know… cause I need today's lecture notes from you, anyways."

"I guess we can do that…"

Takuya breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks a bunch, Kari. You don't know how much I owe you."

"Oh, no, I do know," Kari cracked.

Takuya couldn't help but laugh. Pretty soon, the both of them were giggling goofily.

Until someone cleared their throat behind Kari. Their laughing streak ceased at once.

Zoë walked ominously to the doorway next to Kari, staring down Takuya intently.

Takuya knew that look. The Warrior of Wind was not happy with him. But, he's been trying his best to steer clear of Zoë. So he had no idea as to why she would be giving him the 'stare down'?

Kari must've felt the tension too because she straight away said, "Okay. I'm sure you too have plenty to chat about so… I'm gonna go finish this homework."

Zoë continued to glare right into Takuya, who was becoming a bit uneasy.

"I'll see you in class, Takuya. Text me about those notes," Kari finished before heading back into the apartment.

That left Zoë STILL glowering at Takuya, with Zenithmon inquisitively glancing back and forth between the two.

"Takuya," Zoë said curtly. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Takuya hated it when she was angry at him. It was almost like she was TRYING to pick fights with him.

"I… I'm sorry. I should've called first."

Zoë shook her head dismissively. "I'm actually really glad you came by because I've been meaning to talk to you," Zoë began calmly.

"Yeah… I gotta talk to you, too. But… you can go first."

"No, I'll wait. You go."

Zoë was almost too calm for comfort. Like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. Takuya wasn't sure if he wanted to go through with it. And then he remembered that no matter what she could be mad at… she is still going around frolicking with guys and having lunch. The most Takuya has done was flirt with a cheerleader or two. They weren't even together! He had no idea why the angry Zoë still made him so uneasy.

"I heard you had lunch with Rika's friend, Ryo," he blurted out before he even realized what he said.

Zoë's eyes flared up angrily. "I knew it. I knew it! I knew it!"

"Knew what?"

"You DID send JP to spy on me!"

Takuya scoffed. "I actually didn't. I just found out about the whole thing not too long ago."

"So you guys are having round tables about me now?"

Takuya couldn't believe her. "Zoë, you are way too into yourself. I am not worried about you like that."

"Oh, I'm sure. If you weren't, then why even ask about my lunch with Ryo. Its none of your business."

"You're right. I didn't even come here to talk about that. I actually wanted to ask if you could keep Zenithmon for a while."

Zoë's eyebrow raised in worry. "Why?"

"Someone is after the Sovereigns and I don't think its safe for all of them to be in the same place. JP's keeping Turtwigmon and we're gonna send Azumon back to Shibuya for Tommy to look after. I figure if each one of us has one of them, it'll be a lot harder for them to locate them."

"Do you know who's after them?"

"Someone who calls themselves the Olympus Twelve."

"Olympus Twelve?"

"No idea what we're up against. I just want you to be on your toes," Takuya cracked, placing Zenithmon in Zoë's arms. "Don't get distracted by your little boyfriend."

"He's NOT a boyfriend, Takuya," Zoë snapped at him. Then, she smiled in sudden realization. "Are you jealous?"

Takuya's face got hot with blush. When he first heard Zoë had lunch with another guy, he had to admit, there was maybe a small hint of jealousy. He quickly got over that before he even reached her room, though.

"Jealous?" Takuya scoffed, "Zoë don't flatter yourself."

"Then, why are you STILL talking about my lunch with Ryo?"

"Because-"

"Sounds like a little jealousy to me."

"Nobody's jealous of your stupid rebound guy!"

Zoë paused for a second, gathering what he just said. "Rebound?"

"Yes, the rebound guy. From me!"

Zoë frowned up at him, a frown that grew more severe by the second. "I think you're a little too into YOURSELF, 'buddy boy'."

She turned her back to Takuya, Zenithmon in her arms, going back into her apartment. She slammed the door right in his face without another word.

* * *

Yolei was walking by the freshman apartment dorms as she made her way back to her building. On the way back, she had run into her roommate, Catherine. Yolei needed someone like her to hear her out. She just had another awful fight with Ken because of a text message he got from that Rosa girl. Yeah, sure, Ken may not have been actually cheating with that girl. But, he definitely wasn't slowing down her advances, either.

She needed a sympathetic ear to vent to. And Catherine was more than willing to listen.

"And that's why I'm so mad," Yolei finished. "Ken just lets this girl grovel all over him and doesn't say ANYTHING to her! I feel like … … like we don't even connect anymore."

"This sounds serious, Yolei," Catherine replied. "And you actually believe Ken may be showing interest in this high school girl?"

"I do see chemistry between Ken and Rosa. And even if its not true, then why isn't he brushing her off like he should be?"

"It sounds like he's testing you," Catherine thought. "I've been through this sort of thing before … from both sides. I believe Ken is taking you for granted. Show him how lucky he is. Why don't you try having a night out … with someone else?"

That caught Yolei by surprise. "Another guy? I don't know…"

"Yolei … do you really believe Ken wouldn't go out with Rosa if he had the opportunity?"

Yolei scowled. "You're right. I have to show Ken that he's taking me for granted. In fact … I'll do it! I'll go out with another guy for one night!"

Catherine's face brightened. "Yay! You don't know how happy I am to hear you say that, Yolei! In fact, maybe you could help me by going out with-"

Yolei didn't give Catherine a chance to finish her proposal. She stopped the very first guy that came walking towards the freshman rooms. It just so happened to be Henry Wong.

"Henry, what are you doing Saturday night?"

Henry blinked. "Uh … I don't think I'm doing anything…"

"Great! You, me, we're going out! I'll call you! Can't wait to see you!"

Yolei kissed Henry on the cheek and skipped off merrily, leaving Catherine behind. Maybe this would get her mind off Ken. A part of her felt a little guilty, but she tried to push that feeling away by continually telling herself …

… technically, this wasn't cheating.

* * *

Henry blushed and tried to absorb what just happened. One moment, he was coming back to his room with Terriermon on his shoulder. The next moment … he suddenly had a date with Yolei. He couldn't understand how that happened.

"Yolei! That's not quite what I had in mind!" Catherine called out. "I meant …"

The building's main door suddenly opened. Catherine was cut off by one of her wannabe boyfriends.

"Hey, I was hoping to run into you tonight," Tai said cheerfully. "I thought you'd be studying."

Catherine sighed. "I'm taking a break. Tai…"

"I thought I heard a beautiful French accent," a second voice called out. It was TK, who had apparently just arrived from work. "How's your studying going?"

"I'm taking a break!" Catherine sighed again. "Gentlemen, as much fun as it is being with you … can I PLEASE have some space?! I already said I'd see you two on Saturday! Isn't that enough?!"

"I didn't think anybody could have enough of me," Tai grinned.

"I think some of Matt's hair spray went to your brain," TK scoffed. "She's obviously had enough of you and wants to be around me! She knows I can show her a good time."

"With what?" Tai scoffed. "Your junk mobile is still in the shop!"

"I don't need a car to show her a good time! She still has more fun with me than she does with you!"

"Gentlemen, STOP!" Catherine snapped. "Look, I've tried being nice, but now I see I'll have to be a little more … assertive. You two are smothering me! I need space! I need time to myself! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Catherine's face turned beet red and Tai and TK flinched. Even Henry flinched, and he was standing at a safe distance.

Catherine instantly did a 180 back to her sweet demeanor. "There… I feel better. I'll be seeing you two on Saturday."

Catherine calmly walked off as if nothing happened. Tai and TK had composed themselves and were back to shooting each other death glares.

"Look what you did," Tai muttered.

"What *I* did?" TK shot back. "You're the one that got her mad! She doesn't like it when somebody talks bad about her sweetheart."

"The only one who thinks you're a sweetheart is your mother."

"Don't bring my mother into this!"

Tai and TK argued like that as they went back into the freshman dorms. Henry, having watched this whole scene unfold right after his own scene, just stood there and sweatdropped.

"Terriermon, you want to tell me what just happened?"

"I'll tell you what happened," Terriermon grinned. "Shinjuku High's Most Eligible Bachelor finally has himself a date! It's about time, Henry!"

Henry, who was deep in thought trying to absorb all that happened, slowly walked into the freshman dorms. He was trying to piece together something that was on the back of his mind, but he couldn't quite think of. There was something about that Yolei girl he knew he should have known, but he couldn't remember. Then he shrugged it off.

It probably wasn't anything important.


End file.
